>>3794389
Scanning the crowd for any dissenters, you confirm the worst case scenario. Just beyond the edge of the square, your fellow priests are forced to back up towards the crowd. A mass of writhing, twisted flesh that was certainly once a man is visible. It seems to be in too much agony from the priest's administrations to be of much harm, but there is no telling how many more were inside of the village... or if the priests will be able to keep it down.

>A) You are gifted, and have the closest ties to the God of Vengeance out of any of the Fathers of Mercy. Break into the crowd, abandon the sermon, and deal with the demons yourself.

>B) Continue with the sermon. Preventing further panic is crucial, and all of these people are looking to you to maintain control over the service. Tell the people about the Catalyst. The other Fathers are trusting you to do your job- trust them to do theirs.

>C) These people tormented you and nearly got you killed as a child. You don't owe them anything. Make every attempt to save your fellow priests with the help of the God of Mercy, but do nothing to save the crowd.

(2/2)

>>3794390
>B) Continue with the sermon. Preventing further panic is crucial, and all of these people are looking to you to maintain control over the service. Tell the people about the Catalyst. The other Fathers are trusting you to do your job- trust them to do theirs.

>>3794390
>B) Continue with the sermon. Preventing further panic is crucial, and all of these people are looking to you to maintain control over the service. Tell the people about the Catalyst. The other Fathers are trusting you to do your job- trust them to do theirs.
Faith is what will guide us in these trying times.

>>3794394
>>3794397
Writing now.

>>3794421
You keep your eyes firmly on the newly born demon as you speak to the crowd. The writhing mass of flesh is almost immobilized by the prayers of the other priests. Time will tell if it stays that way. The strongest of demons are often unaffected by the Gods... but this isn't even an imp, let alone a demon of much strength. You remind yourself that it's purely a matter of your fellow priest's will holding out. Their conviction seems strong, and they show no signs of wavering... yet.

No matter how strong your feelings are towards these people, you cannot forget the teachings of Mercy. Not now. "Listen!" You call out, your voice projecting across the square towards the men and women in the back. Panic is thick in the air, but you spread your arms out in front of you, commanding their attention. "The Gods, in their infinite wisdom, saw fit to create us. They made us as shells, to serve them, and to project their will! We are hosts! But..."

Your eyes, so firmly fixed on the demon, scan across the crowd. The pause cuts the panic like a knife, as your congregation listens intently. You continue, "We are hosts not only to the Gods. We also are host to Magic, and Demons!" You raise your arms skyward. "In a time before there was time, before King Magnus the Merciful had conquered this land, there it was! The Catalyst! Those who could not restrain themselves, could not control their inner turmoil, let loose their pain on the world!" You lower your arms, and point accusingly at the demon in the back of the crowd. "Look, now! Look, all of you! This is what you can become!"

Several men and women brings their hands to their faces, to muffle their cries. The creature has been reduced to a large mound of flesh, as the priests continue their administrations. Their hands are grasped tightly around their holy symbols, sweat dripping off their faces, as they frantically press towards the creature. A thin trail of steam is coming off of its body now.

"Look!" You say again, your voice projecting even further. No doubt those still hiding in their homes can hear you. "Death and suffering is all that awaits those who scorn the Gods! The Catalyst is inside each and every one of us, and it will never leave, so long as you turn a blind eye to your duty! You owe it not only to your King, your country, and your countrymen- you owe it to yourselves to quell the darkness!"

The crowd remains completely silent, and for several moments, you remain silent. Father Edmund gives you a reassuring look from below, but his gaze snaps across the square with sudden alarm. You follow his gaze and nearly let out a gasp. The peasants that were hiding in their homes heard you, alright. There's three more demons shambling towards the crowd. You need to act quickly.

(1/2, Options were just barely over the character limit)

>>3794445
>A) Ask Father Edmund if he would aid you in destroying the three demons. Father Edmund is one of the most powerful servants of Mercy- together, you will probably survive. If nothing else, you will buy some time for the crowd to escape.
>B) Command the crowd to exit, and lead them to safety while your fellow priests attend to the demon outbreak. You've done an incredible job today, and it will be for nothing if your congregation doesn't survive to tell of it.
>C) Write-in Option

>>3794448
>>B) Command the crowd to exit, and lead them to safety while your fellow priests attend to the demon outbreak. You've done an incredible job today, and it will be for nothing if your congregation doesn't survive to tell of it
Just Write-in or Writein alright for that sort of option going forward, just by the by

>>3794459
Thanks for the tip. Will wait a couple more minutes for any other votes.

>>3794445
>B) Command the crowd to exit, and lead them to safety while your fellow priests attend to the demon outbreak. You've done an incredible job today, and it will be for nothing if your congregation doesn't survive to tell of it.

>>3794459
>>3794461
A trickle of sweat creeps down the side of your face as you see the demons rapidly approaching. Father Edmund has already torn into the crowd. "Let him pass!" You command the crowd, and they part for your mentor. He looks over his shoulder and gives you a brief look of thanks, before sprinting full-speed towards the creatures. Mace and shield in hand, he paints a gallant picture. All three of the demons are growing in size by the moment, however. Your fellow priests, already exhausted, turn away from the destroyed minor demon to behold the new terrors behind them.

You nervously fiddle with your holy symbol. Mercy give you strength. After swallowing hard, you bellow to the crowd, "If you value your very souls, if you wish to live- come away from the carnage! Follow me to the crossroads!" Jumping down from the wooden scaffolding, you briskly begin walking through the crowd. It's impossible to see the rest of the Fathers over the heads of the peasants, but you can still see the demons. There's a horrific scream as they finally catch up to the crowd. A quiet panic builds through the wave of bodies you're surrounded by, as the screams rise from the back.

You push through the crowd as best as you can. Father Edmund had forced you to take a shield and mace today, and you're seriously debating using it. As you call out words of reassurance to the crowd, they seem to fall on deafer and deafer ears. There are simply too many people, and the smell of blood is on the air.

Something horrific must have happened, as a wave of terror seems to crash against the furthest reaches of the crowd. A woman's voice echoes over the building terror in the crowd. "HE'S GOT THE PRIEST." A cacophony of panic follows. A few peasants begins to push against you, and you know deep in the pit of your stomach that you might die here if a human stampede ensues.

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE HERE!"
"I HAVE A CHILD, PLEASE-"
"LET ME THROUGH!"

>A) You are only one man, in a sea of panic. The church is your life, and you would never abandon it. Pray to Storm, to smite the demons, at the risk of killing many innocents.
>B) Stick to trying to herd the crowd. This is still manageable- you knew some may die, but many more can be saved. Fight your way back to the scaffolding, and pray to Mercy to calm the crowd. Surely they can still be ushered safely away.
>C) Write-In

>>3794492
>B) Stick to trying to herd the crowd. This is still manageable- you knew some may die, but many more can be saved. Fight your way back to the scaffolding, and pray to Mercy to calm the crowd. Surely they can still be ushered safely away.

>>3794492
>>B) Stick to trying to herd the crowd. This is still manageable- you knew some may die, but many more can be saved. Fight your way back to the scaffolding, and pray to Mercy to calm the crowd. Surely they can still be ushered safely away.

>>3794492
>B) Stick to trying to herd the crowd. This is still manageable- you knew some may die, but many more can be saved. Fight your way back to the scaffolding, and pray to Mercy to calm the crowd. Surely they can still be ushered safely away.
The innocent must be protected.

>>3794492
>B) Stick to trying to herd the crowd. This is still manageable- you knew some may die, but many more can be saved. Fight your way back to the scaffolding, and pray to Mercy to calm the crowd. Surely they can still be ushered safely away.
The church is our life, but folk like these form the lifeblood of the church.

>>3794497
>>3794501
Locked, writing.

>>3794497
>>3794501
>>3794502
>>3794514
Hands trembling, you grasp the mace and shield. Part of you enjoys violence. It makes you scared each and every time. You don't want to lose yourself.

Still, these are desperate times. You've done worse things, and you have yet to lose yourself completely. An imperceptible smile crawls over your face as your hands stop trembling, and you tighten your grip on the shield.

"STEP ASIDE!" You shout, bashing the shield against a man who nearly knocks you over in his rush to escape. You can see the demons still growing in the distance. Their form begins to tower over the heads of your fellow men. Your teeth grit together, as you slam the shield again against another man desperately trying to get through the crowd. "I SAID STEP ASIDE!"

It takes a few minutes of agonizing, precious violence to reach the wooden platform. Its rickety, rotten structure sways dangerously against the waves of people pressing against it. You've never been more grateful for your own sickly frame. You leap onto the platform, and wring your hands together. A strange language pours forth, as your will manifests itself in an unknown language. The voice of Mercy is projected from your lips.

You can almost see the strange, runic language on your hands as you knit them tighter together. Blood draws from your hands, and then your mouth. You can feel the blessing of the Gods now, and nearly fall to your knees in euphoria as you influence the writhing mass that's become the village of Pontos.

Everyone, even the demons, stop moving for a moment as you finish the prayer. Blood is flowing freely from your hands, and you can taste copper on your lips. Finally, the congregation begins to slowly flow out of the village. Their trance could last days, or seconds. It doesn't matter. "The Gods are Merciful-" you say, before collapsing.

The world goes dark.

(Cont.)

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>>3794533

Five years pass.

Your miraculous sermon in Pontos thrust you into the spotlight. Having saved the lives of three Fathers of Mercy and countless citizens of Corcaea, you were chosen. For the last five years, you've been trained in reading, writing, and the art of medicine. The hope is that your gifts will enable you to explore the ruins that litter the land. There is legend of incredible secrets lost among their many stone halls.

You have with you a pack that's surely too heavy for your slight frame. Cartography equipment, over 50ft of rope, 10 days of food rations and torches, and all of your medicinal herbs. Ray, your faithful mastiff, barks happily from time to time as you trek deep into the wilderness. Over several days of hard marching, you see fragments of the ruins everywhere. Monuments to lost Kings or Gods, strange carvings, and collapsed stone columns.

This will be your greatest pilgrimage.You know that the nobility is intensely interested in your mission, but you have your own reasons for exploring the ruins.

A) To prove to yourself that you have control over your impulses. Violence will not dominate you, and you surely will need it in the ruins. You are on a mission to truly become a pacifist and to meet challenges with Mercy.
B) To explore your darker inclinations, in an environment where there will be no accountability. You have longed to grow closer to the God of Vengeance since you were a young boy. You are on a mission to embrace yourself, and learn more about what it means to be human... without losing yourself in the process.
C) To chart the ruins. You legitimately are fascinated with the history of your country, and you wish to serve your King and country. By keeping a level head and doing your duty, you may gain great knowledge.
D) To learn of the Catalyst. If there's anywhere that could answer your questions about the nature of man, it's within the ruins. You wish to find a cure to humanity's affliction. Could there be a nobler goal?
E) Write-in

>>3794556
>C) To chart the ruins. You legitimately are fascinated with the history of your country, and you wish to serve your King and country. By keeping a level head and doing your duty, you may gain great knowledge.

>>3794556
>D) To learn of the Catalyst. If there's anywhere that could answer your questions about the nature of man, it's within the ruins. You wish to find a cure to humanity's affliction. Could there be a nobler goal?

the greater the goal the greater the sacrifice

>>3794556
A) To prove to yourself that you have control over your impulses. Violence will not dominate you, and you surely will need it in the ruins. You are on a mission to truly become a pacifist and to meet challenges with Mercy.
We will need a calm head on our shoulders to survive these unexplored burrows.

>>3794556

D) To learn of the Catalyst. If there's anywhere that could answer your questions about the nature of man, it's within the ruins. You wish to find a cure to humanity's affliction. Could there be a nobler goal?

>>3794566
>>3794567
>>3794570
>>3794580
Went and got some food, looks like D is the winner. Writing now.

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>>3794621
There couldn't be a more noble goal than to search for a cure to humanity's greatest affliction: The Catalyst. Of course, you aren't the first human to have the idea. Many men and women go missing in the ruins each year, despite legend of the danger within. The few who have returned are usually scarred and traumatized beyond all recognition. Your heart is... unusually light, given the threat of such danger. You know that you go forward not just for yourself, but for humanity. It's a good feeling.

You have to strain your neck to look up, as you approach an unmistakable entrance to the ruins. Ray barks helpfully, as he runs back and forth outside of the colossal stone passageway. Light seems to disappear as it approaches the doorway. Massive stone tablets line the overgrowth on the walls around it. The walls are etched with countless inscriptions in a language that you do not recognize, despite your teachings... and there are many carvings of strange beasts. Thanks to your experience in the field, you know these to be demons.

Your eyes gloss over as the walls of the ruins stretch on, into the forest. There are hundreds of depictions of winged creatures, masses of flesh, and oddly humanoid beasts. Demons upon demons... your skin grows cold, despite the relative heat outside. You are no coward, but you sense that there is great danger ahead. Nevertheless, you must press on. Approaching the entrance to the ruins, you dig a torch out of your pack and try to illuminate what's inside.

The entrance seems to stretch on into a long, stone corridor, with no sign of a place to hang any lighting whatsoever. The carvings continue as well, deeper into the ruins. The unintelligible writing seems to be endless.

It is terribly dark ahead, and you know your light is limited. You'd better get moving.

A) Command Ray to lead as you go into the ruins
B) Walk side-by-side with Ray
C) Lead, and have Ray follow you
D) Write-in

>>3794655
>B) Walk side-by-side with Ray
let his nose guide us

>>3794655
>B) Walk side-by-side with Ray

>>3794655
>B) Walk side-by-side with Ray

>>3794659
>>3794666
>>3794668
Writing.

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>>3794671
"Here, boy!" You call out to Ray. He bounds towards you, tail wagging happily. You pat the side of your leg, and then lead a hand in front of his nose. "Follow me. Keep your nose out for trouble."

The mastiff drops all pretense of play, and follows you obediently as you begin walking into the ruins. The light is a blessing, as there are countless pieces of rubble littering the floor. The darkness becomes intense, and you can tell that without the torch, you would be in serious trouble. Soon, the light of the world outside fades from sight, and darkness is before and behind you.

You continue on for at least an hour, as the light from the torch is waning. The passage into the ruins has a steady decline, and you are having a harder and harder time keeping your footing. The soil is getting softer and moister, and you see more moss growing along the walls. The runes and carvings are clearer down here, perhaps due to the lack of weather. Ray seems anxious as you continue walking. To your dismay, there are signs of life down here. No tracks or signs of other humans cross your eye for a long while... but eventually, you see it.

Spider webs. A few at first, but before long, there's many. So many, that it is becoming impossible to find your footing among them. Ray is struggling, too. You see a few have already caught on his coat. The passage does seem to open up ahead, though. If you can find some way to cut through these webs...

A) Use your mace to swat them away. It will probably be a nightmare to clean later, but it surely will be worth it.
B) Use some of your water supply and oils to dissolve the webs. The water is precious, but if absolutely necessary you can try praying to Agriculture or Mercy for more.
C) Melt some of the webs with your torch. They're dusty... you know they won't ignite, and it might make the situation horrifically worse, but you are reluctant to use anything else.
D) Write-in

>>3794703
>A) Use your mace to swat them away. It will probably be a nightmare to clean later, but it surely will be worth it.

>>3794703
>A) Use your mace to swat them away. It will probably be a nightmare to clean later, but it surely will be worth it.

>>3794707
>>3794715
Writing.

>>3794738
Ray respectfully keeps his distance when the mace comes out. You carefully start swatting at the webs, and they collect rapidly on the mace. You carve out a pretty decent path forward. One hand still wielding the torch, the other armed with the mace, you feel like you've made the right call... until you reach the opening in the passage.

The passage opens into a network of new passageways. To the north, the passage you're in broadens. It must turn into a steeper decline, as it's impossible to see anything beyond the torch light in that direction. To the east seems to be another steep decline, but it is far more decayed than the stone passage you're currently in. There are almost no runes covering its walls, but an ample supply of moss. To the west seems to be a passage leading back up, perhaps to the surface. You are scrutinizing all of this, and the strange, red tint on the webs further on in many more directions, when you attention is taken from you. Your mace gets completely stuck.

You try to pull on the mace with all your might. It's wedged deep in the webs, and either you're weaker than you thought, or... "This was not made by something of this world," you mutter to Ray under your breath. He snarls. Your eyes snap towards a hulking mass that seems to move in the northernmost corridor. Heart racing, you try pulling on the mace again. Your hands are so sweaty, it's hard to tell if it gave slightly or if it was just your hands slipping.

"There's no use running..." Says a deep, rumbling voice from the north. The sound is akin to stone scraping on stone. A deep chill runs down your spine, and you feel a spider crawl up your sleeve. At the sound of the voice, Ray absolutely loses his shit. You can see his coat bristle as he snarls and drools, practically begging you to attack the source. Oh, Mercy.

>A) Hold your ground. This mace is your only physical weapon. You are no coward. Let this creature come, and find a way to press on!

>B) You're not suicidal. The shadow of this thing is easily as wide as you are tall. Get the hell out of there while you and Ray still stand a chance.

>C) Command Ray to attack while you swat the spider that crawled up your sleeve. The red tint on those webs definitely did not come from the moss down here.

>D) Write-in

>>3794787
>>A) Hold your ground. This mace is your only physical weapon. You are no coward. Let this creature come, and find a way to press on!

>>3794787
>>A) Hold your ground. This mace is your only physical weapon. You are no coward. Let this creature come, and find a way to press on!

>>3794792
>>3794794
Writing.

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>>3794800
"Come on," You say towards the demon, gritting your teeth. "It's going to take a lot more than this to make me turn around." You try to pull on the mace again, adjusting your grip. You do feel it slip slightly, but your hands are going raw from scraping against the metal. More importantly, you seem to have run out of time to release it. You abandon the mace for a moment to grab your shield. "Ray! BEHIND ME," you call, as he bounds behind you.

A behemoth of a demon crawls out from the darkness. It nimbly dances along the surface of the countless webs, despite its body eclipsing the passageways it escaped from. Its torso and face appear to be made completely of stone, yet it possess legs like a spider. Your jaw nearly drops, as the thing skitters rapidly towards you. It displays extreme dexterity, as it craws along the ceiling... you stop following its erratic movements to watch Ray's head instead. Despite being unable to see in the dark, he seems to be able to smell the creature.

"Good boy," You say quietly, kneeling down to better shield him. Ray continues snarling, and saliva is dripping from his mouth onto the floor. The mastiff's nose seems pointed fixedly near the ceiling of the passage ahead. Everything is terribly still. For a few minutes, only the steady drip of Ray's anger interrupts the silence. It takes you a few more minutes to realize what the demon is waiting for.

Your torch is running out.

>A) Put up your shield and light another torch as quickly as possible. If you're going to fight this thing, you're going to need to be able to see it. Command Ray to attack the demon if you absolutely need to, but don't let your guard down.
>B) Let the light go out, and hold your ground with your shield up. You need that mace back, and you'll likely need time to get it out. Try talking to the demon.
>C) Write-in

>>3794848
>>A) Put up your shield and light another torch as quickly as possible. If you're going to fight this thing, you're going to need to be able to see it. Command Ray to attack the demon if you absolutely need to, but don't let your guard down.

>>3794848
>A) Put up your shield and light another torch as quickly as possible. If you're going to fight this thing, you're going to need to be able to see it. Command Ray to attack the demon if you absolutely need to, but don't let your guard down.
Blindness is a bad idea.

>>3794855
>>3794857
Writing.

>>3794876
You can't afford to be in complete darkness. It pains you to do so, but you take your eyes off of the demon and Ray for the briefest of moments, to get another torch out of your pack.

A gust of wind picks up through the corridor, and nearly puts out your torch as the demon lunges to attack. It is exquisitely dark as the embers of the torch dwindle. "RAY!" You bark, commanding the mastiff to protect you. The hound leaps in front of you, snarling, as you light the fresh torch with the embers of the old one. For a few excruciating moments, you hear the hound barking and his teeth gnashing ahead of you, as you stoke the embers into flame again.

You immediately grab your shield once there's light. Trying to hold it aloft despite how hard you're shaking is difficult. You aren't shaking with fear- it's righteous anger. Ray is just ahead in the cavern, bound in web and biting aggressively against his bonds. You can't see any blood trailing from him...

"What have you done?!" You shout at the demon, taking a step forward. A wave of terror hits you as you realize you've lost your temper, and you nearly drop the torch as you try to cover your mouth. Obviously seeing your panic, a sound answers that's a mixture of laughter and an avalanche. You want to cover your ears now, too.

"Come and see," The voice drawls, harsh as stone and with a sickening sweetness. "Come and see your pet, ensnared like so many before. Keep coming... deeper into my web. See how far your heroism takes you."

Tears well in your eyes. Mercy forgive your language, but no one fucking touches your dog.

A) Pray to Vengeance to ensnare the demon, as it's ensnared Ray.
B) Pray to Vengeance to inflict the same suffering on the demon as its inflicted on "so many before." This is dangerous- the greater the effect of a prayer on another, the greater the effect on you. But god dammit, NO ONE touches your dog.
C) Try to threaten the demon. You don't know its strength, and it doesn't know yours. Bluffing might just be enough to get safe passage, and you have a very long way to go. It is unwise to invoke the Gods unless absolutely necessary.
D) Write-in

>>3794909
>A) Pray to Vengeance to ensnare the demon, as it's ensnared Ray.

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>>3794909
I have classes tomorrow, so this will likely be my last post of the night (might have time for one more). I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, EST, and would like to do daily updates for you all if there's continued interest.

>[B]
Good night!

>>3794909
>B) Pray to Vengeance to inflict the same suffering on the demon as its inflicted on "so many before." This is dangerous- the greater the effect of a prayer on another, the greater the effect on you. But god dammit, NO ONE touches your dog.
DAMNIT WE'VE HAD IT

>>3794914
>>3794917
>>3794924
Back and ready for action. Based teachers barely gave me any work so I can update ALL DAY.

Writing next post now. BTW, since I'm pretty new to questing, any suggestions about pacing, info or questions about the quest would be totally cool. I would love any feedback you guys want to give.

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>>3795807
The tears in your eyes threaten to spill over as the demon taunts you. You feel like a child again, like the little boy in Pontos who was bullied and beaten so many times before. You think back to your parents' teachings, and how they cautioned you so many more times against praying to the Gods for trivial matters. Each and every time they warned you, you could sense the fear in them. They tried to hide it, but they knew all along what you were capable of. You have always been so close to the Gods. Your devotion has been unwavering, ever since the day you first asked Vengeance for guidance. When you first prayed to the God of equilibrium, and begged him to deliver you from the beatings and suffering that those children inflicted on you... when Vengeance, through you, broke every bone in that child's body. You think back to that same feeling.

There's no tears now. You are filled with righteous fury. You set the torch down on the floor next to you, taking care to not ignite the bottoms of your robes. The flame eats at the dust on the webs, and the smell of smoke catches in your nose. After a moment, you clasp your hands together, eyes scanning the darkness for the demon. It shouldn't matter for much longer where it went. You begin chanting, pouring your vitriol and spite into the prayer. Ray whines, as your voice changes pitch and is no longer recognizable as your own.

A stream of bile and blood begins to ooze from your mouth. Ray is whining badly now and you want to comfort him, but you're rapidly losing yourself to the prayer. Vengeance has you. The jet-black liquid begins to swirl and take shape. Your eyes start to swim, and the world feels like it's giving out from under you. The heat of the torch beside you is the only thing that seems to keep you from falling into an abyss of hatred. You can feel it- lifetimes upon lifetimes of slaughter.

You struggle not to vomit, as Vengeance floods your body and mind with the sight and sound of this demon gorging itself on thousands of victims. You feel and see its web, spinning time after time, in an endless darkness. A creature that has lured so many like you into this dark hole, never to be seen again. Men, orcs, elves, even halflings. This creature has not felt Mercy in its many long lives...

...you feel something worse. A time before the creature was a demon. A time when it knew life, and love. A deep love of violence. An intense passion for slaughter. A sharp and quick fall into the state it is in now... there was something more, but you can feel the call of it. Of the Catalyst.

You try not to scream, and can't keep your hands together any longer. You stagger, struggling to keep your balance as the bile and blood dissipate around you.

(1/2)

>>3795907
You could not take Vengeance against a creature this powerful, nor a creature this ancient. Your pulse quickens, and you frantically look around, trying to spot the demon as its laughter echoes throughout the ruins. "RAY! HOLD ON-" You call out to your dog, grasping the torch again and trying to move through the webs he tore aside.

As you move to help Ray out of the web, you notice... that the demon isn't descending onto you. It seems to wait in the shadows. You can see its colossal form moving overhead, but you don't care. You tear into the webs with your hands. Several normal-sized spiders crawl over you, but you leave them be. Ray enthusiastically helps, biting at the web and seeming quite pleased that your voice is back to normal.

Suddenly, the demon descends. Its face penetrates the shadows, leering no more than 20ft above you. You underestimated its size, and can feel the weight of the creature surreally suspended from the webs above. You know with absolute certainty that this demon could kill you now, if it wished.

In an impossibly low voice, lower than the depths of the earth, the demon speaks. "You have suffered me, human. I know you wished to kill me, human, yet here you stand.... unaffected by the Catalyst."

...what? You stop pulling at the webs on Ray. He'll be able to tear off the rest himself. ...they were much weaker than the ones that were binding your mace. Is this demon playing with you? Why isn't he killing you?

"We must suffer those who suffer to live..."The demon says, his voice almost imperceptible, despite his immense size and close proximity. Every hair on your weakened body is standing on end. "The Gods do not suffer us to live, human..."

This demon doesn't want to kill me. You start racking your brain for any mention of a demon that wasn't a homicidal monster, and in all your teachings with the church, nothing comes to mind.

"What do you want with me?" You ask, still trying not to retch. The taste of blood and bile is thick on your tongue, and you can smell the demon now. It's the smell of old mildew and more blood. Of course.

"I endure through the ages. Victim after victim crawls into my web unwittingly. I have suffered countless imbecilic assaults... I stretch my legs, human, but I wish to stretch my mind. Do this for me, and I will do something for you in turn." Your mind unravels slightly, as the demon does something you've never seen one do before. It smiles. Its stony teeth, pocketed with bones and moss, glare at you in the torch light. You struggle not to vomit.

>A) Tell the demon of the world above, of the people and places you've been. Maybe it's been so long since it's seen the world, it will be sufficient to exercise its creativity.
>B) Tell the demon of your own life, your struggles, your Gods, and hope that it is interested enough to be satisfied with your own journey.
>C) Write-in option: Tell the demon a riddle, suggest a game, the more creativity the better.

>>3795912
>>B) Tell the demon of your own life, your struggles, your Gods, and hope that it is interested enough to be satisfied with your own journey.

>>3796023
Really slow on the board today, so I'm going to go ahead with the single vote to keep that momentum going. Definitely won't always do this, but just for now I think it's alright.

>>3795912
>>B) Tell the demon of your own life, your struggles, your Gods, and hope that it is interested enough to be satisfied with your own journey.

>>3796069
Nice. Writing.

>>3796023
>>3796069
"J-just a moment." You say to the demon. It's too much for you to keep it back, and you turn and vomit. Ray licks the side of your hands to try to reassure you, and helpfully retches as well at the taste. The demon patiently waits. You get the impression that this creature has more patience in the cracks on its face than you do in your entire body. You wipe your mouth on your sleeve, and say with displeasure, "Sure. I'll tell you a tale. How would you like to hear about a man of the world outside?"

"OooooOOOOooohh," the demon drawls, its voice bordering on obscene as it lolls its head to the side. "That does sound tantalizing. It surely has been an age or two since I've heard of the world above." Still grinning eerily, the demon slowly descends from the ceiling to the side of you. "Tell me more, human, tell me of the ways of the insects that creep and crawl above our ruins," it leers, keeping about 10ft of distance. You can't tell if it's trying to threaten you by staying so close, but Ray is growling.

"Stay, boy." You whisper, and take a swig from your canteen. You know you need to ration the water, but the bile from Vengeance's prayer is doing a number on you. You have to clear your throat once or twice before finding your voice again. It's timid, like usual, when you're talking about yourself.

"Where to begin..." You look to the demon, and ask it a question first. "What age was it, when you lived above this place? I know you must have been a human once."

"Before the sky was dark, before the War of Extermination. When Alaric and his champions cleaved the land in twain. I was there among the cities before the ruins. In the narrowest alleys, bedfellow to the rats and roaches. I lurked in the shadows even then, and the age was known as the Cause of War."

You listen intently, raking your mind for any hints to what you've read in your limited history books. This creature predates any known civilization that you have ever heard of, save for the name of the realm. "Perhaps you've heard of this, then. The man I'd like to tell you about comes from the little town of Pontos, in the Kingdom of Corcaea... in the Realms of Alaric." You watch the demon's face as you say the last name, seeing if you can catch a glimpse of recognition. A long minute passes, then two.

"...go on, human." The demon finally says, with no humor in his voice.

(1/3 BIG BOI UPDATE)

>>3796142
(Formatting got really fucked up, reposting)


"The man was once a boy, and his name was Richard Anscham. The boy grew up alone, with no brothers, and no sisters. His parents, and many others in Pontos, were very ill. ...Richard's parents had a hard time with having any more children, and Richard was always sick. He'd get terrible headaches, and he looked terrible. The other children in the village bullied him mercilessly.
Richard's parent's comforted their boy, by teaching him about the only good in this world: the Gods. They worshiped Agriculture, a Goddess who bestowed bountiful harvests on those who were devoted to her.
The people in the land of Corcaea also worshiped other Gods, too. Churches of each deity protected the land, and tried to save the people from themselves.
There was Storm, who surely fought often with Agriculture.
The Gods of Flesh and Spirit- siblings- were taught to him when he was sick and tired. Richard's parents argued frequently about whether it was wiser to worship one or the other, but he knew that it was wisest to worship all of the Gods with equal diligence.
Richard was told about the God of Dreams each night before he went to sleep. He was said to be very creative, and worshiped by many bards and craftsmen.
...and the Goddess of Time, who was rarely spoken of, but feared by many. You may not know of mortality, demon, but to many humans, she is to be left to her own devices."

You pause a moment. The demon is laying its head on two of its spider-like legs, like a child listening to a fairy tale. Your voice trembles a moment, deeply unnerved by the picture.

"Well... go on," the demon says with exasperation.

"Richard loved the Gods. He asked his parents countless times to teach him how to pray, about their symbols and how to please them. He hoped... he hoped that they could make him strong. But his parents always cautioned him against calling on the Gods for aid. They warned him that the Gods were just, and that was why Mercy, the Goddess of compassion, was worshiped primarily by the King."

You pause again, and look to the demon to explain. "King Magnus "the Merciful" rules over Corcaea, you see. He favors the Church of Mercy above all others, and they are usually the ones to preach to the populace about the importance of apathy... and restraint."

"Of course," the demon replies, "but go on."

"The last deity that Richard learned of was Vengeance. His parents were wary... and... rightfully so. Richard did something terrible to one of the boys in the village, thanks to his worship of Vengeance. He... he loved him. Richard knew that he was protected, even when the Church of Mercy came to kill him... but..."

Ray licks the side of your hand. He can tell how upset you are, even if you're doing your best to hide it. The demon, of course, doesn't recognize the emotion. "I may have an eternity down here, but I don't want to spend all of it waiting, human. What happened next?" He asks.

(2/3)

>>3796164
"The Church was so impressed, that they took Richard. They took him from his parents, and they trained him in the ways of Mercy. They were very careful to never leave him alone again. Richard grew up, never having loved a woman or knowing life in the world outside..." You trail off again. What are you saying? Why is this hurting so much? It's been a lifetime since these feelings have surfaced, but it's like an open wound again.

You slump down next to Ray, and pick some of the cobwebs out from his fur. He licks you again. "But... it was good to not be alone. To be among people who cared for me... and to have the Gods."

You don't catch your slip, and continue with the story.

"I... became so strong. Unbelievably strong. You're the first demon who's ever challenged me. I don't even know your name."

"Those within the ruins have bestowed upon me the moniker, "Master of Webs". You, Richard, may call me Malimos." The demon says, bowing his colossal head slightly.

You silently nod back. What the hell are you doing? Why are you telling this demon all of this? Why are you having the most human conversation of your life with this abomination?
Malimos makes no attempt to move towards you. He seems satisfied with your tale, but doesn't yet move to grant you safe passage.

>A) Ask Malimos if he can clear some of the webs so you may step aside, and what lies beyond each passage.
>B) Linger a minute. You just gave a demon your life story, you want to know more about him as well. Ask Malimos something about himself (Write-in).
>C) Write-in

(3/3, thanks for bearing with me there)

>>3796167
>>B) Linger a minute. You just gave a demon your life story, you want to know more about him as well. Ask Malimos something about himself (Write-in).

>"If you could have lived a different life, would you?"

>>3796172
>>3796167
This

>>3796172
>>3796230
Going to make some food and then will get back to writing!

>>3796306
Finally back. Writing.

File: Web.jpg (344 KB, 3696x2448)

344 KB JPG

>>3796394
You get back on your feet, a little more sure of yourself. "Malimos, then...? Can I ask you something in return?"

"You may. I've enjoyed your tale."

"I don't presume to know how you feel about your life. The things you've done. ...but if you could have lived a different life, would you?"

The demon's smile returns. He seems to be reminiscing. "Ah... if I could have done things differently..." The smile broadens. "No, I think not. I have relished these many lifetimes, perpetuating the suffering of others. I was an excellent man, for the short time I was one. My wife was shorter lived still. I think she hated me, until the very last few moments..." The demon trails off, eyes closed blissfully. "But alas, Richard, I think not. I perhaps I would have liked to meet you a few hundred years sooner, before my memory has faded as much as it has... but that is all."

Malimos' stony eyes open, and he skitters to the center of the room. Your torchlight barely illuminates him, as his voice echoes out to you. "I will clear one of these passages for you. It would be a waste of my work to clear them all. To the north is my den, and my many lesser demons dine there. It would be suicidal to plunge in carelessly, as they are always hungry. ...they wander the ruins... I will command as many as I am able to not attack you, but I cannot guarantee that they all will abstain."

Your skin crawls, and you brush one or two spiders off of your robes. You stand up as well, waving the torch ahead to cast more light. The red hue on the countless webs before you gleam. It looks as if the webs are made of blood.

"The paths on either side of the den lead deep into the ruins. Many traps lie beyond... this place is built to wear on the stone that is the heart of humankind. Many who come here forget what it is to be human..." That same stony smile leers at you again. You are rapidly remembering your hatred for anything of this creature's kind, but you check yourself.

"What of those two?" You ask, of the easternmost and westernmost corridors.

"To the east is the passage to a strange pocket of the ruins. Some say therein lies its greatest secrets... but I have never seen any return from there, in all my many years. Natural and unnatural creatures lay in ruin among the stone there. Not even I know what lies in the deepest recesses of that wing.
To the west is another passage to the surface. The steep incline is a natural defense for my demons, and a certain demise for all who resist them. You would have great difficulty scaling its slopes."

"J-just a minute-" You say, grabbing your pack. This is... this is what you came down here for. You scramble to get your cartography equipment out.

It's going to take you a few minutes, but this gives you some time to decide where to go next.

(Options in the next post)

>>3796464
A) The northwestern passage. Before braving anything unusual, you want to explore the ruins a little more thoroughly. It looks fairly clean, and has a steady slope.
B) The northeastern passage. It's level, clean, and looks to be almost perfectly preserved despite the age. You can even hear... running water from that direction, if you strain your ears hard enough.
C) The easternmost passage. You came here to find a cure for the Catalyst. That isn't going to happen if you get worn down, lost, or lose track of what your real objective is. Surely the deepest secrets of this place will be buried there.
D) Write-in

(I'm actually drawing a map in real time. Will post it ASAP but I'm amateur so hopefully the descriptions are adequate for now.)

>>3796469
>C) The easternmost passage. You came here to find a cure for the Catalyst. That isn't going to happen if you get worn down, lost, or lose track of what your real objective is. Surely the deepest secrets of this place will be buried there.
Who dares wins

>>3796469
>C) The easternmost passage. You came here to find a cure for the Catalyst. That isn't going to happen if you get worn down, lost, or lose track of what your real objective is. Surely the deepest secrets of this place will be buried there.
sidequests are for cowards

>>3796469
>C) The easternmost passage. You came here to find a cure for the Catalyst. That isn't going to happen if you get worn down, lost, or lose track of what your real objective is. Surely the deepest secrets of this place will be buried there.

Wait, wasn't there this exact same quest like 2 or 3 weeks ago except we had no mace, and we were talking to some corn lady to free demons?

>>3796497
It's a reboot of the old one since the OP wanted to fix some problems. They posted about it at the end of last thread.

Would this thing help us if we told him we want to cure the Catalyst?

>>3796499
Okay. At least we got an intro this time.

>>3796469
C) The easternmost passage. You came here to find a cure for the Catalyst. That isn't going to happen if you get worn down, lost, or lose track of what your real objective is. Surely the deepest secrets of this place will be buried there.

File: I am not an artist.png (3.75 MB, 1861x1647)

3.75 MB PNG

>>3796479
>>3796481
>>3796485
>>3796601
Writing.

>>3796497
See >>3796499
I strongly debated referencing the old thread in this one, but decided against it unless someone mentioned it. Glad you enjoyed there actually being an intro this time. Hoping to continue to make improvements and go for a lot longer than the last thread.

>>3796502
Almost missed this post, I'll have you guys ask.

>>3796635
This is more your speed. Trusting the unknown. You gesture broadly towards the easternmost passage with your torch. "Please clear a path to that wing."

The demon nods its colossal head. "As you wish," he says with a rumble, picking apart his web from the high walls of the room. You watch, almost mesmerized, as the thick red strands drop harmlessly to the floor. Before long, a tunnel has been cleared to only the easternmost passageway. You cautiously step through it, calling Ray to your side. Your mastiff obediently stays by your side as before, though looking a little worse for the wear. It's obvious to you that Malimos did not hurt him earlier.

"Before I go," You say, lingering one more moment in the chamber of the demon. You badly want to leave this place with more than what you came with, and this demon, shockingly, has given you little reason not to trust him. "I... came here to cure the Catalyst. I want to find a way-"

The demon erupts into laughter. The very walls quake with the sound of it. You see hundreds of spiders skitter around in the webs, frightened out of hiding. It takes a moment for your heart to settle down as the laughter subsides. "CURE?! Oh, surely, you must be exhibiting that which the humans called humor!"

"N-no," You start, struggling to keep your anger in check, "I am not."

Ray barks, seemingly trying to help you convince the demon of your sincerity.

"Oh, oh please, Richard, spare me your whimsy! You have already entertained me quite enough! I will be sated for another thousand years- oh aha ha ha ha!"

You storm off, furiously, deeper into the ruins. It would be dangerous to try your patience any further. You try to think calming thoughts, as you feel a headache mounting. The pain will become excruciating if you don't stop it.

You try to focus on the smell of the moss, and the cooler air in the passage that you've entered. Holding the torch aloft, you can see that the growth begins along the exterior of the walls and runs down to the floor, getting thicker the further in you walk. It's soft and rather pleasant, but doesn't obscure all of the writings and etchings on the walls. Ray bites and sniffs happily at the growth from time to time as you walk, which reassures you that it isn't poisonous. ...not for a dog, at least.

Some time passes- based on your torch light, at least another hour. It begins to dwindle, as you continue walking down the decline. You've been admiring the strange language that is inscribed on the walls, and the accompanying portraits of many armored figures alongside it. There must be hundreds of unique heraldry that you've seen, as it has been quite a long time without any sign of another branch in the passage.

With a deep sigh, you light your third torch. As you do so, you hear two distinct sounds, far off down the passage: trickling water, and very heavy footsteps. Ray's ears perk up at the sound as well.

(1/2)

>>3796674
The passage seems to stretch on for ages ahead of you still. Your torch light meets a wall of blackness no fewer than 60ft ahead, but there surely is more of this even further off yet. It's impossible to say how far off that sound came from.

>A) Put out the torch- it will waste it, but caution may be prudent here. Try to sneak up on whoever it is ahead. Better safe than sorry.
>B) Keep the torch out, and continue forward more brazenly. Call out to whoever is ahead. You're no rogue and you're certainly not a liar.
>C) Write-in

>>3796681
>B) Keep the torch out, and continue forward more brazenly. Call out to whoever is ahead. You're no rogue and you're certainly not a liar.

>>3796681
>>B) Keep the torch out, and continue forward more brazenly. Call out to whoever is ahead. You're no rogue and you're certainly not a liar.

>>3796687
>>3796691
Writing

File: aaron-austin-interior-02.jpg (350 KB, 1920x808)

350 KB JPG

>>3796709
You thrust the newly lit torch forward, and call Ray to your side. "Here, boy. Let's see who's trying our patience..." You mutter, your fingers wrapping around your shield. You're bold, but not a psychopath. Better to protect yourself and your dog moving forward than to give off the wrong impression. Even down here, you're still a man of the Gods. "Show yourself!" You call, your voice slightly muffled. The moss seems to be hurting the acoustics of the passageway.

Sure enough, no one answers. You continue walking forward. "I... I mean it! Show yourself...!" You call again, slightly less sure.

Absolutely no one responds.

You continue walking forward, shield up, and the sound of running water continues to grow louder. Eventually, light meets your torch.

We're way too far underground... how is this possible? Sorcery...?

The light of day illuminates a ruined series of passages. Water runs out from underneath and over the stone, cascading into a waterfall just ahead. The path breaks off, and two staircases look at though they once descended even further ahead. Unfortunately, they are both so dilapidated that they have completely decayed in the center. The middle 6ft or so of each staircase is completely gone, and a steep, steep drop lies below them. "Back, boy," you say to Ray, moving the shield in front of him.

Just up ahead, beyond the staircases, lies two doors... and a figure darts out in one of them! You recognize the sound of the heavy steps, but the figure moved too fast for you to get a good look at it. "HEY!" You call out.

No reply.

You cautiously step forward, and the stone practically crumbles under your feet. The water must have eroded much of the stone... you look behind you, to see if the source is apparent, but there's no telling where the water is coming from. It seems to flow without breaks, however.

Just as you turn your gaze back, the figure seems to flit across the same door again. Is he toying with you too?! "HEY!!" You practically scream.

Your head bursts into pain, and you nearly double over in agony. Ray immediately hops to your side, and several rocks give under his feet as he steps near you. You stagger backwards, and struggle to keep your footing. "Not now..." You plead with yourself.

Your vision swims from the pain. It's like someone's driving a dagger through the back of your skull. You can't tell if the figure is in the door or if you're seeing spots. The pain escalates rapidly. "No, no no no..."

You slide down, unable to stand. You can barely speak, so you gesture for Ray to come over to you. The mastiff gingerly leans against you, growling at whatever it is that must be lurking ahead.

(Options in next post)

>>3796751
A) You don't know who or what is up ahead, but you're going to die if you have to fight like this. Hell, you feel like you're dying anyways. Wait for the headache to pass, come what may. Ray is a good boy and you know, if nothing else, that he'll protect you.

B) Pray to Mercy to relieve the agony. You might actually be suffering from the strain of your prayer to Vengeance earlier, but it's impossible to tell. Mercy has listened to you before during these episodes, and it might be better than doing nothing.

C) Write-in

Got an interview tomorrow but I'll be back in the afternoon, EST, to write up a response to what you guys come up with. Good night everyone!

>>3796753
>A) You don't know who or what is up ahead, but you're going to die if you have to fight like this. Hell, you feel like you're dying anyways. Wait for the headache to pass, come what may. Ray is a good boy and you know, if nothing else, that he'll protect you.

>>3796753
>A) You don't know who or what is up ahead, but you're going to die if you have to fight like this. Hell, you feel like you're dying anyways. Wait for the headache to pass, come what may. Ray is a good boy and you know, if nothing else, that he'll protect you.

>>3796753
>A) You don't know who or what is up ahead, but you're going to die if you have to fight like this. Hell, you feel like you're dying anyways. Wait for the headache to pass, come what may. Ray is a good boy and you know, if nothing else, that he'll protect you.

>>3796753
>A) You don't know who or what is up ahead, but you're going to die if you have to fight like this. Hell, you feel like you're dying anyways. Wait for the headache to pass, come what may. Ray is a good boy and you know, if nothing else, that he'll protect you.

>>3796753

C) write-in

It was a dark, dark, and stormy night. Afoot were the doors, ajar were his tights.

"Bark, bark!" pups cry as they bite. "No, say no more," I cry, full of fright.

He spun me around, while I looked left and right. "Indeed," he said, no need for a light.

He found my small entrance, no escape was in sight, then from up above, from up a great height, cherubs and angels and babies unborn looked down to me, to give me strength.

They told me to fight.

>>3796799
>>3796802
>>3796807
>>3796808
>>3796820
While this is my favorite write-in of all time, looks like A is the winner. Writing.

I got the job, by the way!

>>3797265
Is the pain more like a cold knife being stabbed into your temples? Or is it more like a very hot one? Is this some sort of retribution? I wonder if this is what it feels like to die?

Your musings are difficult to manage, as even the sound of the rushing water is excruciating. The pain is reaching a crescendo. You close your eyes, holding onto Ray, afraid you're going to actually die this time. The sounds of the ruins grate against your heightened senses. The crumbling stone. The rushing water. The droplets from the staircases trickling onto the rushing stream below you. The... the heavy footsteps.

"Ray..." You mutter, patting the dog. You are reluctant to remove a hand from his fur, but the source of comfort is far less important than your physical safety. You hear him growl and let out a small yell in agony as the pain in your head spikes from the new noise.

It sounds like he's heard something too. You hear the mastiff's soft paws tread over the ruined stone below your feet, as he takes a few steps towards some unknown creature. You... you feel something. Panicked, unable to really see, you back up against the stone behind you for support. "S-stay b-back..." You mutter, as it feels like hands are crawling over your body.

It's the most bizarre sensation you've ever felt. It's as if five- ten- even twenty hands are crawling along your robes. In absolute terror, you try to brush them off, but the movement is too much for you. You double over, trying not to scream. The hands seem to move away suddenly.

It's very quiet.

You must have passed out.

Your eyes slowly open, the residual pain from the headache still lingering. You hold a hand to your head, cautiously moving, afraid of setting it off again. Ray happily licks your face, as you seem to be lying face-down on the floor of the ruins. Your eyes bolt open, as you adjust to the light and see that you're slightly hanging off the ledge, leading down into the abyss of rushing water below.

Heart racing, you inch backwards. Several stones crumble off and fall. It takes a full minute before they crash below, and get swallowed by the current. You swallow, hard.

What the hell was on me? You look around, wide-eyed, for any sign of whatever it was on you. No one catches your eye, not even the flitting figure from the doorway. You'd grit your teeth in frustration, but your entire head is still throbbing. At least the pain is manageable. How long was I even out for...?

>>3797358
You look to see your torch, tossed aside on the floor of the ruins. It's cold to the touch. You've been out for at least two hours, but it could be longer. The light coming from above seems unchanged, you note.

"We'd better get moving, boy." You say to Ray. He wags his tail excitedly, looking to the ruined staircases for permission. You look over them yourself. The one to your left is almost completely destroyed, with moss growing neatly along the cracks and creases of its ruined stone. The one to your right is substantially more intact, but you've seen stones fall from it almost every time you've moved. "...well. Maybe not just yet."

That left staircase is a bigger leap, but it might have more structural integrity. The right one is a shorter jump, though. Less room for error.

Good thing I'm a lightweight. You think to yourself, with no small measure of disdain.

>A) Fasten your rope to a wall first, then jump. You're no sailor, so there's no knowing how well the knots will hold... but the walls might have more integrity than the floor does. (Specify the left or right staircase)

>B) Do not use the rope before jumping. It could be more trouble than it's worth, and it's your only rope. You might have trouble getting it back, and it could lead whatever the fuck those hands were from back to you if they see you went this way... (Specify the left or right staircase)

>C) Fasten your rope to a wall, and try to climb straight down. It's hard to tell, but there looks like some outcroppings. You might be able to climb across them to the doors ahead.

>D) Write-in

>>3797361
>C) Fasten your rope to a wall, and try to climb straight down. It's hard to tell, but there looks like some outcroppings. You might be able to climb across them to the doors ahead.
No need to leap of faith this right away

>B
Right staircase.

>>3797361
>>C) Fasten your rope to a wall, and try to climb straight down. It's hard to tell, but there looks like some outcroppings. You might be able to climb across them to the doors ahead.

>>3797265
oh, congrats on the job btw

>>3797425
Thanks! Going to wait a few more minutes before writing the next response. Updates will be a bit slower today but I'll still be posting through the afternoon and all evening.

>>3797381
>>3797376
>>3797423
Looks like C won out. Writing now.

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>>3797488
Taking a deep breath, you fish the length of rope out of your pack and begin to search the stone wall for anything to hook the rope onto. Many of the stones crumble under your hand as you pull and nudge every outcropping you can see, but eventually you find one that holds.

"Perfect." You mutter. Your long fingers aren't quite cooperating as you clumsily tie a series of knots in the rope, around your waist, and ultimately onto the outcropping on the wall. You test it again, pulling harder with your weight. It doesn't show any signs of give.

"Alright, Ray. ...here we go." You pat him on the head, and gesture towards the edge of the stone you've been standing on. There's enough light to see below- water is pouring down from the rocks above, and it's not easy to see, but you eye a foothold or two on the edge.

Having no prior training with climbing, you are probably overly cautious as you slowly climb down the rock face. The stones are extremely slick from the running water, and you struggle to keep your hold. Ray watches you intently, as you try to find your footing.

About ten minutes later, and you're about five feet below the ledge you started on. You're sweating, and your hands ache from the lack of a proper hold. You silently thank Mercy for the headache subsiding, at least, but this is far from optimal. Why didn't the church give you climbing gear?

You keep descending, hugging the stone wall. The joints in your hands are becoming numb from the cold water and-

Your right hand slips. Panicking, you rush to ease the weight and get your hand back on the ledge-

Your left hand slips, too.

You feel the rush of wind through your hair as you start to fall. Your robes and hands scratch against the rocks as you try and find a foothold, frantically.

There's a hard pull and you feel the air leave your lungs as the rope SNAPS taut. Wheezing, you scramble to get your feet, hands, or any other part of you back on the rocks. Ray barks at you from above. Mercifully, the rope seems to be holding. You rapidly say a prayer, thanking Mercy properly.

You've fallen another 30ft or so, and can no longer see the steps above. Oddly, the ceiling of this place seems to be covered in a normal ceiling. You can hear the water flowing overhead, but it looks to be moist, solid rock. There's an assortment of runes decorating the ceiling as well... you suspect there to be something magical about this place. It's difficult to scrutinize from a distance, but you're certain that the ceiling doesn't have any logic to it. There should be two doors, and instead, there is only the ceiling and the hole directly above you. More importantly, the waterway in front of you clearly has a number of passages and extends beyond your line of sight. This place is enormous.

(1/2)

>>3797547
Looking back up to Ray, you see the mastiff eagerly peering at you. He is whining, and obviously is nervous about you leaving him up there. You want to call out to him, but you're apprehensive. It's a big fall. 40ft, at least. Then again, even if the rope doesn't hold both of your weight, you're pretty sure the fall with his weight on you won't kill you. ...probably.

>A) Even if your hands are aching, try and get a better hold on the walls. You've dealt with worse pain. Call out to Ray to jump down to you once you have a better hold and try to brace against the wall. Pray to Flesh to strengthen your body. Even if he doesn't answer, you'd rather have your dog and some broken bones than to go on alone.

>B) Mastiffs are not meant for this kind of excursion. He easily weighs more than you do- could you even catch him? What were you thinking, bringing him into this place? Command him to stay put, and find a way to climb back up. It's a pain in the ass, but you'll have to find another way down.

>C) Write-in

>>3797552
>>A) Even if your hands are aching, try and get a better hold on the walls. You've dealt with worse pain. Call out to Ray to jump down to you once you have a better hold and try to brace against the wall. Pray to Flesh to strengthen your body. Even if he doesn't answer, you'd rather have your dog and some broken bones than to go on alone.

>>3797552
>>A) Even if your hands are aching, try and get a better hold on the walls. You've dealt with worse pain. Call out to Ray to jump down to you once you have a better hold and try to brace against the wall. Pray to Flesh to strengthen your body. Even if he doesn't answer, you'd rather have your dog and some broken bones than to go on alone.
Too late to puss out now.

>>3797554
>>3797559
Writing.

>>3797584
Ray whines again. This dog is going to be death of me, you think to yourself, swinging back towards the wall. You flex your hands and grab on as tightly as you can to the almost sheer surface, catching onto a few protruding rocks. You dig your feet in, trying to find a good spot to hold. It's difficult, but you manage to twist around, and get a hand free.

You look up. Through the yellow light above, you can make out Ray's nose peeking over the ledge. Carefully, you raise both arms up towards him, and whistle. The dog promptly sails through the air with absolutely no fear, towards your open arms.

You can't bring your hands together, but you still pray, "My restraint is my peace, but my peace shall be broken. Flesh of my flesh, forgive my weakness. Flesh of my flesh, your strength is made perfect in my weakness! Flesh of my flesh, grant me your strength-!!

The prayer is cut short as Ray collides with you. You clutch onto the mastiff, all 200lbs of him, with enormous difficulty, before your footing slides. A brutal SNAP comes from above the rocks, as the rope breaks from your combined weight. ...but something in you stirs. A fire burns in your flesh!

You... you feel stronger! The searing heat courses through your thin frame, and your muscles burn with desire to work. You grasp tightly onto Ray, and give him a reassuring look. The dog's eyes are wide as you both fall down, towards the rocks below. You slam down onto the rocky floor below, but land on your feet. The impact practically dents the stone, and the noise is deafening.

You are not afraid. The gods are on your side. Your Flesh is strong- your shoes are scuffed to hell and your gear is scratched from the climb, but your joints miraculously feel fine. You gently let Ray down onto the floor. He barks immediately, and sticks his nose towards the grand waterway that stretches out before you.

You hear more footsteps. There's a lot of them coming. Something is down here, and it heard your landing. By the sound of it, it's either a band of something humanoid, or a demon with many feet. Either way, it's probably not good news.

But you are not afraid.

A) Turn and run, while the Flesh is willing. You can feel your legs burning with the need to move. You know you can outpace whatever might come. This area is colossal, surely there's some passages you can use to out-maneuver it.
B) Stay and fight. You have no idea if there's any dead ends before or behind you. Better to face what it is... carefully. Your mace is still full of web from Malimos' den, since you never cleaned it, but you have your Flesh.
C) Write-in

>>3797637
>A) Turn and run, while the Flesh is willing. You can feel your legs burning with the need to move. You know you can outpace whatever might come. This area is colossal, surely there's some passages you can use to out-maneuver it

>>3797789
Not a whole lot of activity today, but that's alright. I'm going to have some food and then write up a response for whatever replies we get.

>>3797637
>B) Stay and fight. You have no idea if there's any dead ends before or behind you. Better to face what it is... carefully. Your mace is still full of web from Malimos' den, since you never cleaned it, but you have your Flesh.

>>3797637
>B) Stay and fight. You have no idea if there's any dead ends before or behind you. Better to face what it is... carefully. Your mace is still full of web from Malimos' den, since you never cleaned it, but you have your Flesh.

>>3797789
>>3798011
>>3798147
Looks like B won out. Writing now.

File: 1563902318290.jpg (1.25 MB, 1920x2716)

1.25 MB JPG

>>3798188
"Ray. Get ready." The mastiff growls menacingly, gnashing his teeth in the direction of the footsteps. Mace in your main hand, shield in your right, you stand with your companion and face down the waterway. The streams rush rapidly past your feet, but you don't care. You feel brutally strong. It's as if your scarcely used muscles could burst out of your skin at any moment. You tense, confident that right now, your weak and weary flesh is your strength.

Barreling down the corridor comes the answer to your prayers, crashing into the sides of the walls as it barely can control its momentum. A chance for violence. It's an orc, with pale green skin, painted in dried blood and screaming. The brutish creature is something you've heard of, but never witnessed yourself... the warrior orcs of Cyno have been at odds with Corcaea for generations. This one looks like a war chief, based on the battle axe he's spinning over his head... and the creature he's riding.

It looks as if the orc has tamed a lesser demon. The creature resembles a centipede, only gargantuan in size and with a woman's face. It must be 40ft long, and its many legs are running rapidly towards you!

The orc screams again, swinging his axe overhead, and shows absolutely no signs of stopping. Streams of water shoot up on either side of the demon he rides. He shows no signs of stopping the charge towards you. You hear the orc's screams more tangibly now.

"ORGOTH RIDES NOW! FOR DEATH AND GLORY ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE! SLAYER OF DEMONS AND CONQUEROR OF THE RUINS!"

You have no fear in your heart against this warmonger. Your hands tighten on the shield and mace. You are not afraid.

Calm as the eye of a storm, you run at full speed towards the demon. With almost effortless grace, you speed past Ray, who barks and snarls at your feet. He's been trained to kill if the need ever arises, and no doubt his master's newfound strength is sparking some of that homicidal fury.

The orc looks alarmed for a brief moment, but he redoubles his efforts, and continues speeding towards you!

"I WILL TAKE THIS PLACE AND WIPE OUT THE LAST OF YOU! FEAST ON MY BLAAADE HUMAN!"

You both meet in the center of the waterway. This lunatic has your blood pumping- you can't help but let out a cry as you strike!

>A) Strike at the demon's feet with your mace. Try to knock its rider off. Kill two birds with one stone.

>B) Leap towards the rider, and try to strike him with your mace directly! Orcs are notorious masterminds of battle, having trained their entire lives in combat. He might be a bigger threat than the demon.

>C) Strike at the demon's head with your mace. You don't know this creature, or its powers. It could very well be using the orc as a puppet! Strike it down while you have your strength!

>D) Write-in

>>3798255
>>B) Leap towards the rider, and try to strike him with your mace directly! Orcs are notorious masterminds of battle, having trained their entire lives in combat. He might be a bigger threat than the demon.

>>3798255
>B) Leap towards the rider, and try to strike him with your mace directly! Orcs are notorious masterminds of battle, having trained their entire lives in combat. He might be a bigger threat than the demon.

>>3798255
>>B) Leap towards the rider, and try to strike him with your mace directly! Orcs are notorious masterminds of battle, having trained their entire lives in combat. He might be a bigger threat than the demon.

>>3798258
>>3798325
>>3798328
Writing!

>>3798385
With your running start, you explode into a leap that clears the entire height of the demon. The orc's eyes widen as you swing your mace as hard as you can into the side of his head.

The orc- Orgoth- brings his battleaxe up with catastrophically fast reflexes! He catches the mace, and as he deflects the mace, the momentum carries you past him!

Your body is stronger, but you're still thin and human. The hulking orc whips his head around as you fly past him, and barks a laugh at you. "IS THAT THE BEST YOU'VE GOT?!" He mocks.

The force of his swing seemed to have dislocated your shoulder, but the Flesh is strong. You barely feel a thing as you pop the socket back into place. It's a good thing, too, because you get another running start to swing at the orc again.

Silently, you leap once more onto the top of the demon. It writhes its body, kicking like a bull. It's at this moment that Ray catches up, and follows your lead! The mastiff jumps and buys you a moment of precious time- you wordlessly slam the mace again. Orgoth can't keep his eyes on both of you at once. He moves to deflect the mace, and Ray takes a giant bite into the orc's shoulder!

You feel a part of you burning as you can't help but laugh at the orc- your mace contacts with his battleaxe, and the web sticks the weapons firmly together!

"Release him!" You shout to Ray. The dog- who had been practically glued to the orc's body- releases his teeth and lands heroically back on the waterway's floor. He begins to run behind the demon, who's many feet begin to try to crush your dog underfoot!

Your weapon is firmly attached to the orc's battleaxe. His right shoulder is bleeding out, and you see him favor the other arm as he pushes hard against you. You precariously keep your balance atop the demon, as it thrashes and bucks under both of you. "YOU'RE ONE OF THEM ALREADY! " The orc screams, leaning into you with all of his might! You're only using one arm, and still you're barely keeping up with him!

Does he think my strength is demonic? Does this orc have the gall to not recognize the Gods?

>A) Toss aside your shield, and push against the orc with both arms! Overpower him, and throw him off the demon!

>B) Keep the shield, and jump off the demon to protect Ray! He's down there dancing with an army's worth of attackers.

>C1) Maintain the stalemate with the orc- he thinks you're a demon? Bluff and act like one! He could tame one, but not even a warlord could handle two. ...right?

>C2) Maintain the stalemate with the orc, and intimidate him into calling off the demon! He thinks you're a demon too? You're a man of the Gods- and that is something worthy of much, much more fear.

>D) Write-in

>[B]
DOG

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Well, it's officially my birthday. Going to check out here for the night. I'll wait for more votes before continuing. I might make an update today but it's much more likely on Saturday.

Here's a pic I drew of Father Anscham post-prayer for the road. Limited art skills, but hope you guys still like it. See you all soon.

>>3798482
>B) Keep the shield, and jump off the demon to protect Ray! He's down there dancing with an army's worth of attackers.
he's already wounded, it's not worth the effort to pull the weapons off him

>>3798482
>B) Keep the shield, and jump off the demon to protect Ray! He's down there dancing with an army's worth of attackers.

>>3798625
Ohhey that's pretty neat!

>>3798505
>>3798954
>>3799286
Got some unexpected time to myself today inbetween going out, got time for an update here and there. Writing now.

File: Centipede.png (3.66 MB, 1400x1536)

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>>3799538
With a final push, you catch the orc off guard again. Your shove breaks his balance, and he struggles for a moment to keep his hold on the demon. It gives you a precious moment to jump off of the creature, down next to Ray. Ray's running through the demon's countless legs. The demon's body is extremely long- you can see it better now from the side, and it's apparent that its legs must number well over its namesake's 100. Each side of its segmented, armored frame drums against the stone and water, kicking up waves of filthy foam.

Shield still in hand, you whistle loudly to Ray. He's attentive, but makes sure he has a clear path before running towards you. You both charge alongside the demon, but the orc has spotted you!

Orgoth screams again atop his demonic mount, and spins the creature towards you all. Something strange happens. It's as though Orgoth is... riding the tail of the creature?!

The orc and what you thought was the face of the centipede demon disappears from sight as the true head of the demon spins around to face you. The being has two faces. This one, monstrous, and most decidedly devoid of any humanity, looks down at you from a great height. As it leers up, you say quietly to Ray, "Move with me, boy-"

You leap to the left, and the mastiff keeps close by your side. The creature smashes itself down into the floor, trying to crush you underfoot. You barely manage to move aside in time, and deflect a good amount of the water with your shield. Holding most of it in front of Ray so he isn't hurt, you get a disgusting mouthful of runoff from the waterway. You spit it out, looking at the demon as you do so. It lunges again, and before you can run out of the way, it comes straight down on top of you!

(1/2)

>>3799667
Holding the shield straight overhead, you try to deflect the weight of the demon. Its strength is tremendous. Ray snarls and dives out from under the creature while your body sears with heat. A faint trail of red smoke comes off of you, as Flesh's blessing heals your muscle and bone through the strain. You let loose a scream with no small amount of panic, and toss aside the demon. The weight of its body kicks up a huge surge of water, but you hold your ground. You're breathing hard, and definitely still alive.

You turn and break into a run. Heading back towards the human head, you look over your shoulder at the demon as it slowly rears its demonic half. This side of the creature is insanely aggressive, and you have no weapons to speak of- or wait? Do you?

You're acutely aware of the heat coursing through your Flesh. Black and red smoke is coming off of your body in tendrils, as you keep pushing yourself. You tighten your free hand into a fist, and look up at the demon's armored hide. Its exoskeleton is thick, but does it have any special properties? It's only a lesser demon, though. You've faced far worse creatures than this before...

I might break a few fingers, but I'd rather get hurt now than have Ray get hurt later.

Ray is running alongside you. He's a strong dog, but you know he can't keep this up forever. You need to do something before he gets hurt.

>A) Split up from Ray, and keep the demon's attention off of him. The insect-like face seems remarkably unintelligent. Punch a hole straight through its exoskeleton, and keep its focus on you!

>B) Command Ray to get away, and try to finish the demon off quickly. Focus on the demon's humanoid face, and beat it into submission! It's risky, though. Orgoth is still up there, and you don't know what the demon is capable of.

>C) Write-in

>>3799671
>>A) Split up from Ray, and keep the demon's attention off of him. The insect-like face seems remarkably unintelligent. Punch a hole straight through its exoskeleton, and keep its focus on you!

>>3799671
>>A) Split up from Ray, and keep the demon's attention off of him. The insect-like face seems remarkably unintelligent. Punch a hole straight through its exoskeleton, and keep its focus on you!

>>3799714
>>3799733
Writing!

>>3799671
>A) Split up from Ray, and keep the demon's attention off of him. The insect-like face seems remarkably unintelligent. Punch a hole straight through its exoskeleton, and keep its focus on you!

>>3799999
Checked, goddamn. Posting shortly!

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>>3800029
You're struggling to keep your emotions in check, and it's not helping that you're literally seeing red. The smoke rising from your body is intoxicating. You want to put Flesh's blessing to work, but it's terrifying.

Giving into violent impulses is... a necessary evil. Defending the innocent comes before self-preservation. Even if I get dangerously close to activating the Catalyst, I need to protect Ray.

The self-soothing helps. You slide to a stop, smoke still rising from you. You were running so quickly, Ray has to take an extra few steps and double back towards you. You both look up at the demon.

"Hang back, boy. Stay safe." You say quietly to him, and throw the shield over your back. Hands clenched in righteous fury, you take back off running, towards the demon. Ray barks at you, and bolts further away, keeping a safe distance. You can hear his heavy panting as he starts to catch his breath, but it's nothing compared to how hard you're breathing now. Rushing towards the demon, you leap into the air, and bring your entire arm back to break through its shell!

You punch straight through the demon's exoskeleton, and shout in pain as the force floods through your hand and up your arm. You cling onto the side of the demon's body for a moment, as you're up to your elbow in its softer innards. You make sure to grab a handful, excruciating as your broken fingers feel, as you tear your arm back out. The blackened, poisoned flesh of the creature smells horrific, coating your entire right arm as you toss aside the chunk of muscle you tore from its body.

The demon's human face lets out a disturbing sob that sounds exactly like a human woman.

"Give it back!" The demon shrieks, whipping her humanoid head around to see you. You glance at her with disgust, and fling yourself from her body, back onto the floor of the waterway. More filthy water kicks up, and you fling a wave of it at her open wound as you land. She shrieks again, and you call out to her.

"I'll give you everything you deserve," You reply, fists still clenched. Flesh's blessing courses through you, and you feel almost immediate relief as your bones begin to repair themselves. There will be scars, but you'll wear them with pride.

The demon howls, and Orgoth lets loose another scream in turn. You see him toss aside the battle axe, your mace still attached. He picks up something from his back as you break into a run again, dodging the countless feet of the centipede.

"KILL HIM-!" The orc shouts, and tosses a javelin towards you! Simultaneously, the humanoid face of the demon lurches the centipede's head at you, ready to slam down on your body!

I definitely got their attention.

You have a split second to react to the two-pronged assault.

(Options in next post)

>>3800043
>A) Ignore the javelin. Jump as far away from the centipede's body as you can. Its weight could kill you. No time to pray for another miracle.

>B) Focus on the javelin, and try to endure the centipede's attack. Your prayer is lasting an unusually long amount of time. Flesh has favored you today, but the javelin could kill you if that war chief's aim is as good as the stories say.

>C) Grab your shield. Deflect the javelin, and try to dodge out of the way of the centipede. It will be difficult to act quickly enough, but you'd rather chance it than eat one of the attacks.

>D) Write-in

>>3800045
>Order Ray to attack the orc again
>A) Ignore the javelin. Jump as far away from the centipede's body as you can. Its weight could kill you. No time to pray for another miracle.
>When the javelin hits, throw it at the centipede

>>3800061
Got some pizza, going to wait a few more minutes for votes before writing the next post.

>>3800236
Actually getting pulled away to watch a movie. I'll be back tomorrow!

>>3800045
>A) Ignore the javelin. Jump as far away from the centipede's body as you can. Its weight could kill you. No time to pray for another miracle.

>>3800045
>>A) Ignore the javelin. Jump as far away from the centipede's body as you can. Its weight could kill you. No time to pray for another miracle.
Better than crossing our fingers and hoping for divine intervention.

>>3800061
>>3800680
>>3800682
I totally got done with the movie, writing now.

>>3800686
There's no time to deal with both attackers at once. Grimacing, you leap as far to the side of the centipede demon as possible. You hear the javelin soar through the air, and its trajectory seems to continue where you've leaped! As badly as you want to, you can't change your direction mid-air, and shout out in pain as the javelin pierces into your side!

Your landing is less than graceful, as you stumble and try to not dig in the weapon any further. The centipede is already raising itself again to strike once more. Orgoth calls from atop its head, throwing his voice now, "HURTS, DOESN'T IT, LITTLE MAN?!"

The only thing you hate more than people fucking with your dog is people fucking with you. You grab firmly onto the javelin, and with one swift motion, you pull it out of your side. Smoke and blood pour out of the wound, spreading over your drenched robes.

The waterway is probably only going to accelerate the bleeding.

There's no time to ruminate over this. Flesh's blessing won't last forever. Javelin still in hand, you turn to the demon. As it's about to strike down, you throw it as hard as you can at its face!

As you suspected, the creature's demonic half is too unintelligent to see the attack coming. It goes to throw itself down on you once more, and instead impales itself on the flying projectile! There's a sickening crunch as it pierces its exoskeleton entering- and again as it exits!

Orgoth clings onto the demon with his good arm as the humanoid portion of the demon bucks and screams in agony. You whistle, throwing your voice far down the waterway. Ray comes bounding out of the water, also soaked to the bone. He doesn't seem to care for anything other than the battle, and charges without prompting towards Orgoth.

You fall to one knee, clutching your side, as you see your faithful mastiff soar through the air and rip into the orc. Orgoth howls in pain, and tumbles down the side of the demon with Ray still fixed onto his neck. The humanoid portion of the demon seems so badly injured that she can't protect her rider- or can she? She stops her frantic stampede once Orgoth is off of her body, and begins backing up towards the way she came from in the waterway.

You hear a hideous howling from Orgoth. It's hard to make out what's happening- water kicks up around the orc and your dog as they are locked in fatal combat. You stagger over to them, as the smoke stops pouring out of your wound. There's still a sharp, piercing pain shooting through you, and the blood is spreading.

(1/2)

>>3800753
No longer able to run, you catch up to Ray and Orgoth. Your mastiff has completely subdued the orc, who is lying in the waterway, struggling to not drown. He has cast aside the battleaxe (and your attached mace) somewhere in the water. The female demon is dragging her better half down the waterway, but you could probably still catch up to her...

This orc might have information. I've killed over less, but... it... is my duty to be Merciful.

You look down at the orc with disgust.

>A) Command Ray to kill the orc, and take the time to heal your wounds. The demon probably won't get far.

>B) Command Ray to kill the orc, and run after the demon. You won't be able to track her blood very far with how much running water there is down here. She didn't speak during the fight, but maybe she will now.

>C) Let the orc live, and interrogate him. He will surely be willing to talk with your dog around his throat, and that demon is a risk you aren't willing to take with your injury.

>D) Let the orc live, and keep him subdued until you heal yourself. Showing some Mercy now may pay dividends later... and this wound REALLY needs to be looked at.

>E) Write-in

>>3800754
>>D) Let the orc live, and keep him subdued until you heal yourself. Showing some Mercy now may pay dividends later... and this wound REALLY needs to be looked at.

>>3800754
>D) Let the orc live, and keep him subdued until you heal yourself. Showing some Mercy now may pay dividends later... and this wound REALLY needs to be looked at.

>>3800754
>D) Let the orc live, and keep him subdued until you heal yourself. Showing some Mercy now may pay dividends later... and this wound REALLY needs to be looked at.

>>3800754
>C) Let the orc live, and interrogate him. He will surely be willing to talk with your dog around his throat, and that demon is a risk you aren't willing to take with your injury.

Also, the next time we find runes or strange writings we should try to record them.

>>3800754
Supporting >>3801048.

>>3800757
>>3800892
>>3801026
>>3801048
>>3801049
Looks like D won out! Jesus I am so relieved one of you wants to record the runes/writing. The church would be proud. Writing.

>>3801052
You're way too wounded to keep the orc down yourself. The pain in your side is becoming more intense by the second. The javelin struck you deeply. It was difficult to tell in the heat of the battle, but now that your blood is cooling, it's apparent that the hit would have been lethal were it not for Flesh's blessing. Limping, you come close enough to get a better look at the scene.

The orc is barely putting up a fight, trying not to drown or have his neck bitten clean off by the mastiff. Ray is used to taking commands from you when you're in too much pain to speak. You whistle twice to call him off. The dog is still snarling with extreme prejudice at the orc as Orgoth bolts upright, coughing up mouthfuls of filthy water. "Stay down, Orgoth," You say, wincing in pain. You can practically feel the rush of blood out of the wound from the exertion. The orc is spluttering still, but for good measure, you make a long, low whistle to command Ray again. The dog leaps on top of Orgoth, and growls aggressively in his face. The mastiff's powerful jaws are centimeters away from the orc's nose. "He won't kill you if you don't attack us." You warn him, before collapsing in the water.

You're probably more hurt than you realized.

With the last ounce of strength left in you, you roll over and prop your body on top of your backpack. You mutter a prayer in thanks to Flesh for granting you so much, before even reaching for your pack. You wouldn't be alive if it weren't for his blessing. It may have been a self-imposed suicide mission to enter the ruins, but you aren't ready to die just yet. The herbs in your pack...

Tears come to your eyes as the last of Flesh's blessing leaves you. Your long and thin limbs are aching from the exertion. You strain to take out a few pouches from your backpack, but some are drenched in water. The animal skins and waterproofing on your bag wasn't nearly enough to protect all of your gear from the elements. "Ruined..." You mutter, weakly going through another bag of herbs. Finally, you find a tincture that is unspoiled. Without a second's hesitation, you swallow the entire contents of the bottle. It's terribly bitter, but you know it will help the pain and ease the bleeding.

Another moment or two passes. The war chief looks pretty hurt too, but he is showing absolutely no sign of it. You glance over at him only every few minutes, too busy stopping the flow of blood to pay him much mind. Ray growls at him intensely every time he does more than blink, and Orgoth finally seems to wind down from the fight. You fasten a long strip of bandages around your waist, tying it over your filthy robes as you're too hurt to properly make a dressing. You'll have to fix it later.

1/2

>>3801117
A few long minutes pass after you're confident that you've staunched the bleeding. That javelin was barbed, but it didn't have any poison on it. You wonder how many other humans have encountered this orc for him to have immediately mistaken you for a demon.

"...Orgoth, right?" You ask, wincing again from the effort of speaking. Gods, your side is killing you.

"So! You're intelligent enough to recognize the name of the GREATEST warrior to have ever lived-" Orgoth starts. Ray growls at him with such ferocity when he speaks, the orc immediately pipes down again.

"If you... swear to not hurt me or my dog, I'll call him off... I don't... I'm not a demon..." You are struggling to speak, but it's worth the effort. You can't have this maniac doing something to Ray while you rest. It would be impossible to pray again when you're this spent.

The orc stares at you with extreme intensity. You can feel his eyes pouring over every pockmark, the deep bags under your eyes, your crooked nose. It cuts you like a knife and you instinctively look away, turning your scarred and gaunt face aside.

Please stop looking at me.

The orc laughs. Ray barks hard in the war chief's face, snarling, but he shouts, "Ah, a human after all- I see! Your dog seems to even have more confidence! You can't possibly be a demon! Ahaha!"

His words cut deeper than the look did. He's right. You keep your eyes away from the orc, struggling to not let your emotions overwhelm you. This is extremely dangerous. You need to get a hold of yourself. You aren't a child anymore.

>A) Distract yourself by moving. Get somewhere cleaner and drier, sort out your gear while Ray guards the orc.

>B) Distract yourself by deflecting. Get the orc to talk about himself. He seems to be so full of himself that it should be easy. Even for someone who only speaks in sermons.

>C) Distract yourself through meditation. It's been a long time since you've needed to, but some reflection could help to keep your head level. The orc can wait a minute.

>D) Write-in

>>3801122
>B) Distract yourself by deflecting. Get the orc to talk about himself. He seems to be so full of himself that it should be easy.Even for someone who only speaks in sermons.

The fight was all one big misunderstanding.

>>3801122
>Agree. You are not perfect, and Ray has been a stalwart companion.

>>3801122
>>A) Distract yourself by moving. Get somewhere cleaner and drier, sort out your gear while Ray guards the orc.
Also ask him how he tamed that demon.

>>3801122
>B) Distract yourself by deflecting. Get the orc to talk about himself. He seems to be so full of himself that it should be easy.Even for someone who only speaks in sermons.

>>3801122
>A) Distract yourself by moving. Get somewhere cleaner and drier, sort out your gear while Ray guards the orc.

>>3801122
>A) Distract yourself by moving. Get somewhere cleaner and drier, sort out your gear while Ray guards the orc.
Let him ramble on

>>3801137
>>3801327
>>3801388
3 for A, with a write-in to ask how he tamed the demon.

>>3801132
>>3801326
2 for B

>>3801135
and 1 really nice write-in.

Looks like A is the majority! Writing now.

>>3801405
He's right.

"I'm... not perfect." You cringe, avoiding the orc's eyes as you stand with great effort. It's impossible to avoid clutching your side and gasping as you get back on your feet. Ray barks right in the orc's face, still putting on a show of aggression. It's almost as if the mastiff is trying to distract the orc for you. A very slight smile crosses your face. Ray won't attack the orc unless you give him the word- but if you did, the war chief would be killed without hesitation.

"He's been my companion and supported me when no one else could-" You wince from speaking at length, but finish regardless. "He's probably saved more lives than you've taken, Orgoth." Your eyes are downcast, despite the bold statement. In the five years you spent as a Father of Mercy, Ray has served with you for all of them. You owe him your life, too.

Ray barks, and you don't quite catch the full extent of the orc's reaction. You're deeply uncomfortable talking at length, save for conversations about the Gods. You doubt this orc even knows of Mercy.

Just move. Do something.

You grab your backpack, and start walking gingerly towards the side of the waterway. Still avoiding eye contact, you slump down on a dry ledge. Looking past the orc, you can see the lurching figure of the centipede demon. She's barely able to move, crawling with her humanoid end back towards the way she came. A black stream of blood, and possibly poison, pools around her. It's a good thing the water is flowing away from you. You begin to look through your bag, setting out the water-logged provisions and wringing out what you can.

It's fascinating that an orc was able to tame such a creature. Your curiosity wins out over your creeping insecurity. You... you did come here for a reason. You take out your journal and to your surprise, most of the pages are salvageable. "Ray. Hang back," You command, and the dog backs his face away from Orgoth. The orc looks at you in surprise. In a low voice you ask, "How did you manage to tame the demon?"

"It was a simple matter!" Orgoth boasts, looking relieved to have something to brag about. Ray jumps in alarm at his increase in volume, but dutifully stays put. "I found her in this strange place, starving half to death! I can't possibly eat all of the creatures I've killed down here- so I brought the girl a few gifts! Ahahaha!"

Orgoth seems ridiculously pleased with himself, and gives you a wink. "She warmed up to me faster than a halfling to a hot meal! Once she knew I could pull my weight, we made a little agreement! She would help me," for the briefest of moments, you hear the orc's voice lose its manic energy, "and I'd not kill her."

(1/2)

>>3801526
Orgoth is looking over his shoulder now, taking his eyes off of Ray for the first time since you first saw him. The orc's heavy frame sinks slightly. "It's a great dishonor, you know. You've disgraced my ancestral weapon, wounded my finest ally, and gravely injured me!" Orgoth looks at you, smiling with a weird sincerity. It's a little unnerving, to see a mass of battle-scars, blood and muscle acting this way. Are all orcs like this? You've been told all your life that they're bloodthirsty killers, practically mindless animals.

He continues with that sad smile on his face. "I didn't come down here to die, yet you've struck me with mortal blows! You see why I mistook you for a demon, no?"

You cringe again, and look down at your journal. Despite your injury, your notes are crisp and your handwriting is steady. Likely from a lifetime of restraining your body and emotions. It doesn't make a difference when what the orc's saying makes so little sense. Did he only have to treat the demon with respect?

"You tried to kill me." You say, your voice even, but your eyes lit with anger.

"I tried to defend myself! When was the last time you saw yourself? Or even ate anything?! I've seen elves with more meat on them than you! Do you have any idea what else is down here?! I couldn't take any chances!!"

Ray growls at the orc as his voice increases in pitch. Orgoth closes his mouth, but still looks agitated. You can feel a pressure building in your head from the strain of talking to the war chief. It's proving more stressful to deal with him trying to talk to you than trying to kill you.

>A) This has been a terrible misunderstanding. Try to explain to the orc what you're doing in the ruins, and why you look like death warmed over. You don't need to tell him, but you're so starved for an actual conversation, you want to try. If the pain comes, so be it... you really need this.

>B) Hold off on elaborating until you get more information. Get some details on the demon, and maybe about Orgoth, too. There has to be more to this than bribing or a bargain. There has to be.

>C) Rest a lot longer. The ledge you're on is dry, your pack is airing out, and you don't know when the last time was that you ate or slept. You still don't trust him enough to let your guard down completely. Ray can watch Orgoth for a while- you need a break.

>D) Trust the orc enough to take a proper rest, for as long as you need, and give Ray a break too. Offer Orgoth some of your rations and some healing, if he swears on his honor to not harm you or your dog. You can talk after you get some sleep.

>E) Write-in

>>3801544
>C) Rest a lot longer. The ledge you're on is dry, your pack is airing out, and you don't know when the last time was that you ate or slept. You still don't trust him enough to let your guard down completely. Ray can watch Orgoth for a while- you need a break.

>>3801544
>D) Trust the orc enough to take a proper rest, for as long as you need, and give Ray a break too. Offer Orgoth some of your rations and some healing, if he swears on his honor to not harm you or your dog. You can talk after you get some sleep.
>We can fix the weapons later, I don't want demon webbing on my weapon any more than you.

>>3801544
>A) This has been a terrible misunderstanding. Try to explain to the orc what you're doing in the ruins, and why you look like death warmed over. You don't need to tell him, but you're so starved for an actual conversation, you want to try. If the pain comes, so be it... you really need this.

>>3801544
>D) Trust the orc enough to take a proper rest, for as long as you need, and give Ray a break too. Offer Orgoth some of your rations and some healing, if he swears on his honor to not harm you or your dog. You can talk after you get some sleep.

Those options are all great; it was really hard to make a choice. I'm also with >>3801555 on assuring the Orc about our weapons.

>>3801552
>>3801555
>>3801558
>>3801789
Glad you guys had some interesting choices! Looks like D won out. Writing next post, and noted that you'll assure the orc about the weapons.

File: Richard and Orgoth.png (2.22 MB, 3000x3300)

2.22 MB PNG

>>3801921
Wordlessly, you examine the rations you're airing out to dry. They're a little soft around the edges, but definitely still edible. You grab two, a handful of medicinal herbs, an armful of more makeshift bandages, and walk over to Orgoth. He looks hard at you as you approach with the food in hand. You give an entire portion to Ray first, who wolfs it down without even chewing. "Good boy. Stay." You pat him on the head, and kneel down, careful not to get the bandages wrapped around your torso wet again.

"It's no wonder you're a shadow of a man, giving your pet the biggest share!" Orgoth gives you a slight smile, seemingly unaware of how bothered you are by the teasing. With extreme reluctance, you break the remaining ration in half and take a bite. It's dry and made purely for efficiency, not for taste. You stare down Orgoth with the driest look imaginable as you slowly chew. He gives you a big grin in return.

"...listen." You say at last, the wind completely taken out of your sails. "I need to rest. You need to recover too. I'm no demon- I'm a man of the Gods." You scrutinize his face as you say this, looking for any sort of disbelief, any reaction, anything. He stares at you blankly.

"I've been trained in healing-" You try to start explaining. The orc cuts you off uproariously.

"A medicine man!" He exclaims, leaning over and almost grabbing you by the shoulder. Ray instantly leaps onto him, growling and barking hysterically.

You put a hand to your temples. The damn headaches. You feel the pressure mounting. "Down, Ray." You say quietly, closing your eyes for a moment to try and stave off the incoming pain. It's actually quiet for a moment. When you open your eyes, Orgoth is staring at you again.

"Stop doing that." You finally say, losing your patience.

"What? Did our battle leave a mark on you deeper than I can see?! THE MIGHT OF ORGOTH-"

"Stop- be quiet-" You mutter, curling into yourself as the pain builds.

(1/3, monstrous update)

>>3802132
A couple of minutes pass, and the orc actually seems to have listened. You listen to the sound of the rushing water. The centipede demon clearly has stopped moving down the waterway, either bled out or hiding to lick her wounds. Maybe the orc does know of Mercy. He... he did listen to your plea. You gingerly open your eyes again, and see that he's intently examining a wall across from you. His eyes dart back towards you every few seconds, as if you can't see him. You sigh, and extend the other half of the ration to the orc.

"Here." You say, waving the brick of food at him. "That bite on your shoulder is going to pass beyond my care if you let it get any fouler. If you want my help," you say as Orgoth extends a hand to take the ration, "I need your word. Your bond. Swear to me, on everything you hold dear- swear to me that you won't bring any harm to me or Ray."

The orc's pointed ears perk up slightly. "Willbreaker-!" He begins, and then quickly brings down the volume of his voice. "Willbreaker. My axe- I'd swear to you on it, but-"

"We'll clean it." You reassure him.

"And your name! I don't even know who I'm swearing to."

"Father Richard Anscham. ...and you know Ray."

"Father? AHAHA, I haven't called anyone that in... in at least 40 years!"

"It's a title. I'm the head of my order, it's... like a holy... tribe." You recoil into yourself at the comparison, but it's the best you can come up with, given your limited knowledge of Orcs and their culture. "It's a great honor." You finish firmly.

He grimaces, and then nods his head firmly. "Very well, Father Richard Anscham. I'll swear it to you on my first wife. Dura Soulstorm bore me 16 healthy sons, each one stronger than the last-!"

You listen with as much patience as you can muster, trying to conceal your mounting agony as Orgoth swears to you on each one of his first 16 sons... and then each one of their tribes... and each one of their sons... that he will not harm you or Ray. You're about ready to collapse by the time he finishes.

"...Father? Are you alright?"

"...no." You mutter, sliding forward. The orc, wounded as he is, catches you as you nearly fall face-first into the filthy streams coursing through the waterway.

"Alright, come on, medicine man-" If you weren't struggling to not shout out in pain, you'd think there was concern in his voice. The world goes dark, as you feel yourself being lifted back towards the rest of your gear. A strange thought occurs to you, before you fade from consciousness. You can't remember the last time you actually touched someone.

(2/3)

>>3802136
Dream visits you, deep in the darkness. You see before you a field of grain, and a beautiful woman standing under a red moon. You try to call out to her, but black bile and blood begin to pour from your lips. Hands begin to crawl all over your body, up your throat, and inside of your mouth. A barrel of liquor tumbles down an endless staircase and collides with a mountain of dead bodies. An owl flies overhead, and curtains draw shut before its wings, clipping them mid-flight. A small spirit is born and dies. The woman turns away from you. You're falling, falling into a deep sea, and you can't speak- you can't breathe- the whole world is shaking. The moon turns black.

"Father! Father Anscham!" You hear a gruff voice calling out to you. Everything is still shaking. Orgoth. Orgoth is shaking you.

"Orgoth." You look at him groggily. Ray seems to be sleeping behind him, splayed out on some rocks about the water level. You wipe the side of your face. ...there's... there's blood on your hand.

"Father? You were out for two days-! Are you...?" The orc looks at you, and his face turns to alarm as he sees what's on the back of your hand. He knits his eyebrows together. "Is this normal?"

"...thank you for waking me." You say hurriedly. You dash over to your gear, paying no heed to the pain in your side, and tear into your journal. Immediately, you begin writing down everything you can remember from Dream, muttering in fevered prayer to the God himself. You don't stop until you've gotten every last detail down that you can recall. It seems nonsensical now, but you have never been one to take the Gods lightly.

Wide-eyed, you finally finish, and look over to Orgoth. "Alright. We have some business to take care of. Let's get that looked at, and clean those weapons-"

"What's wrong with you?" The orc asks. He's looking at you with extreme concern. You... you might not be able to avoid this.

>A) Insist on tending to Orgoth's wounds and cleaning his axe and your mace before you do anything else. He's astute enough to see that you can't get too worked up. That needs to be sufficient for now. He can answer a few questions for you, if he wants to talk.

>B) You don't want to scare away a potential ally. This orc seems to know as little about humans as you know about orcs, let alone what you're dealing with. Offer to share some information if he does the same for you, but don't get in too deep.

>C) This orc actually kept his word- and if he isn't lying, kept you safe in the ruins while you and Ray slept. You may not owe it to him, but you want to talk. Talk to him. Tell him everything. Spill your guts. ...not literally, of course.

>D) Write-in

>>3802143
>B) You don't want to scare away a potential ally. This orc seems to know as little about humans as you know about orcs, let alone what you're dealing with. Offer to share some information if he does the same for you, but don't get in too deep.
This sounds fair without being too stand-offish. Also make sure to let him know him keeping his word is appreciated.

>>3802143
>>B) You don't want to scare away a potential ally. This orc seems to know as little about humans as you know about orcs, let alone what you're dealing with. Offer to share some information if he does the same for you, but don't get in too deep.

>>3802143
>A) Insist on tending to Orgoth's wounds and cleaning his axe and your mace before you do anything else. He's astute enough to see that you can't get too worked up. That needs to be sufficient for now. He can answer a few questions for you, if he wants to talk.
We'll tell him, I guess

>>3802218
>>3802236
>>3802389
Yep, I fell asleep early. Going to update this afternoon after getting some work done. Thanks for your patience everyone!

>>3803231
Locking in the vote now! Writing.

File: Cropped Location Map for Anor.png (4.92 MB, 2985x1656)

4.92 MB PNG

>>3803903
You flinch as if Orgoth hit you. Your eyes lose a bit of the verve from your time spent with Dream. The unearthly blue of your irises change back to a normal shade of green. "What's wrong with me?" You repeat, looking down to avoid eye contact again. Nervously, your gaze darts to the side, looking anywhere but at Orgoth as you search for how to respond. Down the corridor, streaked over the etchings on the wall, there's smears of more black blood that definitely were not present before you passed out. Did Orgoth protect you and Ray, too?

"Did you... What was that from...?" You ask, gesturing towards the streaks of gore. He nods his head, arms crossed, and laughs with pride.

"It would have been dishonorable not to guard you! This floor is teeming with strange creatures, but they are not match for ORGOTH! THE GREATEST WARRIOR TO HAVE EVER GRACED THIS MISERABLE RUIN-!"

You let him gloat. You would have likely died if he didn't guard you while you slept. Ray is a good boy, but he's still only a dog, and no doubt wouldn't have been able to stave off any more demons. Not right after that fight, at any rate. "...thank you." You say sincerely.

"Don't mention it! Ahahaha!"

"I appreciate you keeping your word, too, Orgoth." Your voice drops to an almost imperceptible murmur as you say, "...I owe it to you. To be honest." You smear the edge of your robe over your face, wiping off the last of the blood that you produced while you were sleeping. Your volume raises slightly as you continue looking at your sleeve. The blood is thick, fresh, and definitely your own. "Have you encountered many humans before?"

Aggressiveness inches into Orgoth's voice. "Of course I have! I've fought many men. You humans have an incredible spirit! I have lost many of my kind to your forces in the Dark Fen, and on my borders at home! Truly- a formidable foe! Ahaha!" He laughs in a bloodthirsty way, but a bit of anger is inching into his voice. He's obviously reminiscing. You don't interrupt, letting him laugh to himself for a minute or two.

Orgoth eventually seems to calm down and continues. You can feel Orgoth's eyes burning into you. "But- normally, you all only bleed when struck. And never have I seen any of you smoking in the way you did! I've seen a few of your wizards, and a few of you "holy" men. But never anything like this." The orc's aged, gruff voice takes on a tone of apprehension. "The way you fought was not human, Father."

(1/2)

>>3804304
"It was, and it wasn't." You can't restrain the warm smile that takes hold of your face. You recall how brutally strong Flesh's blessing was, and long for the feeling again. The strength, the confidence. You hold onto yourself for a moment, and look straight at Orgoth for the first time. Your voice is warm, and you talk as if you're speaking of a lover. "It was the Gods, Orgoth. The God of Flesh answered my prayer. He was generous, and granted me enough strength to to contend with you, and the demon you tamed..."

Orgoth stares back at you, looking deeply concerned as he digests this. "You didn't look it. I would have mistaken you for a non-combatant, until you defiled my axe-!" Orgoth declares, still confused.

The smile fades. A great deal of pain takes hold in your voice. "They can't change my body. I'm only a vessel, a shell- but- the Gods can work through me." You look intently at Orgoth, with utmost seriousness in your voice. A disturbing thought occurs to you. "Do you not know of Them?"

"No! The people of Cyno worship the art of war, the call of battle! Our gods are our fellow orcs, our greatest champions! More importantly, I don't care to know of these Gods if they're responsible for that-!" He exclaims, looking at the blood on your sleeve. "...even more importantly, you're avoiding my question, Father." Orgoth says accusingly, and then repeats, "What's wrong with you?"

You drop your arms to your sides, and recoil slightly into yourself. He's really not letting up. You're not used to anyone being this direct. Anyone. Is this a trait of his species? Or are you just this unused to conversation? You hesitate.

>A) Tell the orc about the Gods, and how they affect you. You can't resist educating him, and it's a good way to elaborate on how your illness is exacerbated by their blessing. The risk of him using this information against you is slim, seeing as how he's held his word and protected you and Ray. You feel you owe it to him to be honest.

>B) Tell Orgoth about the Gods, but not your illness. He actually does seem to be unaware of how severely they can tax the human body. A sermon is in order- one that omits your personal issues. It's hard for you to speak at length about yourself, and harder still to trust someone you barely know. If he presses it further, tell him you're not comfortable expanding on it.

>C) Refuse to discuss the subject any further. Orgoth has protected you and Ray, but you aren't naive. You don't want to expose your weakness to someone you barely know- especially one so aggressive. He could actually hurt himself, or try to abuse the Gods' blessing. You'll happily preach to him, but you won't tell him any more about your illness or how the Gods can hurt you.

>D) Write-in

>>3804308
>>A) Tell the orc about the Gods, and how they affect you. You can't resist educating him, and it's a good way to elaborate on how your illness is exacerbated by their blessing. The risk of him using this information against you is slim, seeing as how he's held his word and protected you and Ray. You feel you owe it to him to be honest.

>>3804308
>A) Tell the orc about the Gods, and how they affect you. You can't resist educating him, and it's a good way to elaborate on how your illness is exacerbated by their blessing. The risk of him using this information against you is slim, seeing as how he's held his word and protected you and Ray. You feel you owe it to him to be honest.

>>3804308
>>A) Tell the orc about the Gods, and how they affect you. You can't resist educating him, and it's a good way to elaborate on how your illness is exacerbated by their blessing. The risk of him using this information against you is slim, seeing as how he's held his word and protected you and Ray. You feel you owe it to him to be honest.

>>3804316
>>3804425
>>3804877
Locked in and writing!

Thanks for your patience. Due to homework and the new job it will likely be a bit slower the next week, but I will make sure to get at least one a day out for everyone.

>>3805104
Nervously, you look back at Orgoth. He's still staring hard at you. You immediately turn your eyes towards the ceiling, as if you could look at the Gods instead of him. "I'm sick." You say plainly. "Always have been. I get... terrible headaches. Not just me, either. You close your eyes and say with a sigh, "The people in my village have a strong connection to the Gods. We don't know why. ...some people are better shells than others." You hold your holy symbol tightly against your chest. Your heart is pounding.

Orgoth doesn't seem to mind waiting a minute. You keep avoiding his gaze, and turn your eyes down to your holy symbol. The gold gleams in the light filtering through the waterway. It's got blood and bile smudged on it. Appalled, you immediately start cleaning it with the hem of your clean sleeve. "The Gods are just, Orgoth, but their miracles are difficult for humans to endure. Humans aren't built like Orcs, they're... weaker. The people of my village were weaker still." The symbol is clean, but you don't feel any better. You compulsively keep buffing it as you say bitterly, "My parents only had me... not 16 healthy sons."

Once the gold, outstretched hands are clean enough to see your face, you release it from your grasp. Your pallid reflection crosses your view before you cross your arms over your chest. The movement stings, as the wound in your side is obviously still healing. "It's uncommon for humans to use the blessing of the Gods, even if they're in good health. For a healthy man, or even woman, it's unusual to pray directly to them even in times of great need. We... we humans try to endure. But..." You cross your arms tighter around your chest, even though it hurts. "Some humans are so weak that they still try. Weaker humans are often subject to retribution, Orgoth," You say, looking straight at him now.

Fear is written across your face, and Orgoth's concern intensifies. He seems to get it, but you continue, "I'm weak, Orgoth, but the Gods still see fit to keep me alive. There's- there's something wrong with my head, but none of our healers can fix it. It's the Gods' will. They have seen fit to use my weakness as their blessing, do you understand?" The fear mixes with desperation. "Even if I can't do much on my own, the Gods have always listened. They see fit to bless me, time after time. And even though it may wear on me- even though my shell has cracks- it still holds. I don't lose myself. I don't die."

Orgoth takes a step back. He seems deeply troubled, and isn't talking.

"So you see- I... I may bleed, even if I'm not struck by something your eyes can see. I'm struck by a power much, much greater than anything mortal eyes can see, Orgoth."

The desperation in your voice is leaning over into something much darker, and you stop yourself.

(1/2)

>>3805155
"I understand." Orgoth says, and moves to grab his things. You look at him properly for the first time, only as you realize that he's leaving. The orc's hulking, battle-scarred frame seems brutally strong. Blood smears most of his clothing. The orc doesn't have armor nor any gear- he clearly has been surviving in the ruins with nothing but his bare hands. Your hands, despite tightly gripping to your sides, are trembling. When he tosses you your cleaned mace, your fingers are clumsy, and you nearly drop it.

"You cleaned-"

"Don't mention it!" He says, his back to you. There's a hint of fear in his voice. "I have things to do- and someone to go home to. We'd better part here. You take care of yourself, Father Richard Anscham."

>A) Stop the orc from leaving. Tell him you'd make a strong alliance. Beg him to stay if you have to. Please don't let another person leave me alone.

>B) Stop the orc from leaving. Ask if he can at least let you explain that you aren't a threat- or even prove it. He can't just leave me like this.

>C) Stop the orc from leaving. Ask him if he can tell you anything else about the centipede demon, and then let him go. Respecting his wishes is the least you can do after he listened to you. It'll be better this way.

>D) Let the orc go. You don't have the heart to argue with him, and you're worried what he might do if you push him. Respect his wishes, and try to say something reassuring before he leaves. No matter how scared he is of me, I can still be a decent man. I don't need to prove anything to him. I know I'm not a monster.

>E) Write-in

>>3804308
>>A) Tell the orc about the Gods, and how they affect you. You can't resist educating him, and it's a good way to elaborate on how your illness is exacerbated by their blessing. The risk of him using this information against you is slim, seeing as how he's held his word and protected you and Ray. You feel you owe it to him to be honest.

>>3805160
>D) Let the orc go. You don't have the heart to argue with him, and you're worried what he might do if you push him. Respect his wishes, and try to say something reassuring before he leaves. No matter how scared he is of me, I can still be a decent man. I don't need to prove anything to him. I know I'm not a monster.

>>3805160
>D) Let the orc go. You don't have the heart to argue with him, and you're worried what he might do if you push him. Respect his wishes, and try to say something reassuring before he leaves.
> It always ends this way, why do you even try?

>>3805160
>>D) Let the orc go. You don't have the heart to argue with him, and you're worried what he might do if you push him. Respect his wishes, and try to say something reassuring before he leaves. No matter how scared he is of me, I can still be a decent man. I don't need to prove anything to him. I know I'm not a monster.

>>3805160
>C) Stop the orc from leaving. Ask him if he can tell you anything else about the centipede demon, and then let him go. Respecting his wishes is the least you can do after he listened to you. It'll be better this way.

>>3805166
>>3805167
>>3805192
>>3805199
Got time for one more update before bed. Looks like D won out. Writing!

>>3805306
A lifetime of repressing yourself makes it easy to hide the hurt in your voice. "Take care of yourself, too, Orgoth: the greatest warrior who ever lived."

The orc looks over his shoulder as you say this, and flashes you a huge smile. You let him go, and he continues down the waterway. He's walking in the direction you came from, opposite of where the demon retreated. His heavy footsteps faintly echo through the waterway, as he sloshes through the shallow water beyond your line of sight.

You immediately go to Ray, and slump down next to him. The dog is still sleeping peacefully. Dream doesn't visit animals, You remind yourself, scratching him behind his ears. It's comforting, but there's still a dull ache in your chest from having yet another person leave you. At least the Church made sure you're never truly alone.

With a few more gingerly made motions, you make your way over to the drier ledge and get out your cartography kit to sketch some of the ruins around you. Your illustrations include some of the larger carvings on the walls, and you make a note of your descent, including the location where you last saw the centipede demon. It takes a few minutes, but you're satisfied with the work.

What a terrible misunderstanding. You think to yourself, looking down the waterway. There's absolutely no sign left of Orgoth or the demon- it's as if they was never there.

After a few moments of ruminating over the battle and Orgoth's departure, you painfully eat a ration and drink some water. You look at the filthy waterway and decide to continue stretching your supplies, even though the ration has you thirsty. You could filter some of the water, but with how many demons have likely died in the streams, you don't quite trust it. While you're looking down, the sound of someone splashing in the water startles you- but relief soon follows. Ray eagerly licks your face. He must have smelled the food, bland as it is.

"I'm happy to see you too," You say to the mastiff, scratching his ears again. "Did you just want this?" You ask, and wave the ration in front of his face. The dog sits dutifully. You go through the motions of training him with a few exercises- whistling, fetching, propping you up if you pass out. Once you're done, you toss him the remainder of the food. "I wish I knew if Orgoth fed you." You murmur to the dog, as he inhales the ration without chewing.

Ray pants at you, eagerly awaiting more orders so he can have more food. You break another ration in half, and give Ray his share, stashing the rest for later. We have a lot more work to do, you think, getting up and gathering your supplies.

Before you lies what appears to be a labyrinthine network of passages, all adorned with countless inscriptions and carvings of demons. There are two main passages you can immediately see- one stretching off where you entered, and another leading towards where you last saw the centipede demon.

(1/2)

>>3805344
Above you is a simple ceiling, and a large hole through which you descended. You can't see more than a pale yellow light shining from above, and the various broken ledges that you destroyed when you fell down. It would be a pain to climb back up, but that was where Malimos told you there were greater secrets within the ruins. You don't really know where you are now.

Further down the waterway in which you stand, you can see several passages branch off from the main corridor you're standing in.

"Alright, boy. Where to now?" You wonder aloud.

>A) Stop a moment, and scrutinize the walls of the ruins in more detail. You have your own reasons for entering the ruins... but the Church of Mercy did send you down here on a mission to record your findings.

>B) See if you can follow the centipede demon's trail. She had to have crawled off somewhere. While you don't mind the unknown, demons are one thing you want to be sure of.

>C) Go down the path Orgoth walked down. You'll want to use caution to not follow too close- you don't want him to get the wrong idea. But he might have a better idea of where he's going than you do.

>D) Climb back up to the ruined staircases. You were unable to get much information from Orgoth, despite your time together, but he did warn you about how many demons were down here. You would rather fight the ruins than the creatures in them, while you're still recovering from that javelin.

>E) Write-in

>>3805346
>>A) Stop a moment, and scrutinize the walls of the ruins in more detail. You have your own reasons for entering the ruins... but the Church of Mercy did send you down here on a mission to record your findings.

>>3805346
>A) Stop a moment, and scrutinize the walls of the ruins in more detail. You have your own reasons for entering the ruins... but the Church of Mercy did send you down here on a mission to record your findings.

>>3805358
>>3805541
Locked in, writing!

I got absurdly lucky with a light work and homework load this week! Should be able to make regular updates as usual.

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>>3806042
As you think out loud, your eyes wander over the ruins around you. In every direction, there are cracks, creases and bits of decay. The wear and tear on the walls punctuate the countless inscriptions bordering the hundreds of yards of stone. You see no holds, no torches, nothing indicating that this place was meant to be inhabited.

Hesitant to take your eyes off of your surroundings for too long, you look down the corridors. Only the soft yellow light looks back at you. The sound of rushing water, and Ray's steps through the waterway as he follows you. You make sure you have your journal out as you start to walk along the walls of the ruins, recording any repetitive or particularly interesting things you see. There's so many demons and runes inscribed upon the walls that it's difficult to discern anything in particular- the entire system of demons seems to be represented here. Imps, minor demons, lesser demons, even...

"A major demon." You say, awe-struck, as you approach a gigantic mural along the side of the waterway. There is a depiction of a creature that may have once been a man. It has no fewer than 10 torsos, perched atop a freakishly long body. Each head has a forked tongue, horns, and the front-most head is breathing flame. The body is akin to a horse, but with a pair of legs for each one of its heads. Your hands shake slightly as you try to duplicate the carving as best as you can. You pause after you're done, and carefully write, "Centaurpede? - Major Demon" under the drawing.

You continue walking down the passage, inscribing the various runes. You fill about five pages, and then stop. There's simply too much, but you have a list of characters of the languages represented, and a number of demons copied down. This will surely be of benefit to the Church. Satisfied, you close the journal, and stash it back in your pack.

All of these drawings remind you of the many demons you've fought during your time serving the Church of Mercy. Your first sermon in Pontos was meant to be a trial by fire. Father Edmund wanted to protect you, but the other priests and their respective benefactors were appalled at the thought of you serving in the Church. No doubt, they hoped you'd have been killed during the purging of the most dangerous village in the region. But you survived, and went on to survive so much more. Traveling the countryside, acting as a beacon of compassion and Mercy to the disparate and terrified people of Corcaea. Displaying time after time how the Gods could listen. Striking down demons from the wilderness and within towns. Saving Anson, when a demon manifested right in the heart of the city. Years of prayer and abuse has left your body is weak and weary, but there's no denying that your spirit is strong.

I know I'm not a monster. You reassure yourself again, looking at the colossal major demon above you.

(1/2)

>>3806266
"What...?" You say out loud in disbelief. There's a groove along one of the demon's legs. It... it almost looks like a door!

After a few moments of scrutinizing the creature, you hold your hands before the crack in the wall. There's a faint draft coming from the other side.

A) Push the wall to try to force it open. You can't conceive how a slick stone door without handles could be trapped. Who dares, wins.

B) Better safe than sorry. Try to check the hidden door for traps. (Write-in what how you want to do this, the more specific the better.)

C) There's no way this isn't a trap. Back up, mark on your map where the door is, and keep moving. Go down the waterway towards where the centipede demon last was.

D) Back up, mark on your map where the door is, and keep moving. Go down the waterway towards where Orgoth walked off to.

E) Write-in

>>3806268
>D) Back up, mark on your map where the door is, and keep moving. Go down the waterway towards where Orgoth walked off to.

>>3806268
>D) Back up, mark on your map where the door is, and keep moving. Go down the waterway towards where Orgoth walked off to.
Scouting! Information gathering!

>>3806268
D) Back up, mark on your map where the door is, and keep moving. Go down the waterway towards where Orgoth walked off to.
Welp. Time to be a creepy stalker.

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>>3806277
>>3806369
>>3806378
Unanimous vote! Writing. Got sent a song that might as well be the thread theme:

https://youtu.be/Xg8Ckamh8Gw

>>3806446
Cautiously, you back up from the door without so much as touching it. You can't be too careful down here. It takes a few seconds to label your map with the door's location, and you add a small diagram of the giant mural as well. Just in case.

"Let's keep moving, Ray." You say softly, looking to your companion. The mastiff barks, and obediently hops to your side.

Your eyes trail along the walls, down the passage where Orgoth was last seen. You swallow, hard. I just need to gather more information. You say to yourself, trying to justify what you're about to do. Thinking back to your battle against the orc, your eyes widen. "Ray." You say firmly, taking the side of his collar in one hand, and taking out your mace with the other. Orgoth caught the weapon with his bare hands- his blood is still dried onto the ends of it. Ray gives you his full attention, ready to trail whoever you command.

You wave the mace under Ray's nose. The command is simple. "Follow."

Your dog barks at you repeatedly, and immediately starts tugging at your hands. "Slow." You say with severity. Ray stops tugging, and you release his collar. He waits for you to begin walking, whining as he points his nose down the waterway.

"Mercy forgive me." You say, and begin walking back towards the way you came.

You're acutely aware of how much noise you're making as your robes drag over the waterway. The filthy water comes up to your ankles, and it's impossible to completely muffle the sound no matter how carefully you step. Ray doesn't help matters, as he's hellbent on trailing Orgoth's scent. You have to frequently remind the mastiff to slow his pace.

Time passes. It could be one hour, it could be five. Your side is aching from the movement, but you keep moving forward. The waterway is like a maze, with countless branching paths. It would be unbelievably easy to become lost down here- you're glad you decided to stick to a single path. "Stop," You whisper to Ray, finally breaking the monotony of the water underfoot. You see something up ahead.

If you had been moving faster, it would have been easy to miss. There's trip wire strung across the path, at foot level- and at neck level. You could have been badly hurt if you ran this way. You immediately take a step back, and pull hard on Ray's collar to keep him from hurting himself. There's a dull throbbing in your chest, and soon in your head.

(1/2)

>>3806520
"What's wrong with you?"
The memory hurts.
You were still so young when the Church of Mercy took you in. Father Edmund did everything he could for you, but it wasn't enough. You hated your life before the Church, but you were so alone. Even with the Gods.
You ran away.
You watched and waited. Tried to find a time, a place, a way to talk to someone, to get help.
One time was enough.
"Get away from me!"
"Don't touch her!
"You don't understand, please-"
When Father Edmund found you, he couldn't hide how badly you were beaten. You still think Mercy is the only reason you didn't die.
"What were you thinking?!"
"What's wrong with you?"

The tightness in your chest makes it a little hard to breathe. You look down at the wire, and examine it more carefully. It's not slick with poison, but it's barbed and sharp enough to easily draw blood. The trap was clearly designed to slow down a pursuer- or kill someone running past.

You grit your teeth.

>A) Take down the wire so Ray doesn't get hurt, and keep moving forward. You've come this far, and you don't want to turn back now. This place is a maze, and getting lost down here is a far worse fate than whatever waits at the end of this tunnel. Regardless of what you've been through, you need to survive. Orgoth clearly is keeping his word- you can at least trust that he won't kill you if you don't get discovered.

>B) Turn around. You aren't helpless- you have Ray, and you have the Gods on your side. You can find a way through this place without following someone who clearly doesn't want you around. ...who's clearly scared of you. Go back the way you came and explore on your own. Leave the wire up and respect Orgoth's wishes.

>C) Write-in

>>3806531
>B) Turn around. You aren't helpless- you have Ray, and you have the Gods on your side. You can find a way through this place without following someone who clearly doesn't want you around. ...who's clearly scared of you. Go back the way you came and explore on your own. Leave the wire up and respect Orgoth's wishes.
We shouldn't have been following him in the first place.

>>3806531
>B) Turn around. You aren't helpless- you have Ray, and you have the Gods on your side. You can find a way through this place without following someone who clearly doesn't want you around. ...who's clearly scared of you. Go back the way you came and explore on your own. Leave the wire up and respect Orgoth's wishes.

>>3806531
>B) Turn around. You aren't helpless- you have Ray, and you have the Gods on your side. You can find a way through this place without following someone who clearly doesn't want you around. ...who's clearly scared of you. Go back the way you came and explore on your own. Leave the wire up and respect Orgoth's wishes

>>3806539
>>3806662
>>3806736
Locked, another unanimous vote. Writing!

>>3806890
Your shoulders slump forward as you look at the wire. Ashamed of yourself, you say aloud, "We... I shouldn't have come this way in the first place. ...let's go, Ray." You wave the mace again by the mastiff's nose and say firmly, "Drop it."

Ray relaxes as you command him to drop the trail, but he seems to be able to pick up on how stressed you are. He licks on the side of your hand liberally, and you pat his head in appreciation. You even try to straighten your shoulders slightly. The ache in your chest and head subside... just a bit. Almost to reassure yourself, you say, "I'll be fine. Come on." Your voice comes out strained and timid, but Ray doesn't seem to mind. He looks to you for where to go next.

You turn your back on the corridor Orgoth went down. The pain in your side is still noticeable as you walk away, but it's definitely decreased since you first were hit. All of that sleep must have actually helped. Ray keeps your pace.

You make it back to where you began a lot faster than it took you to pursue Orgoth. It likely took half the time, if that.

"That wasn't so bad." You say aloud. Ray barks in response

...that isn't normal. He sounds distressed, and barks again. "What is it, boy?" You ask- and then you hear it.

From the ceiling above, where you descended however many days ago it was- a few pebbles fall down. You've seen enough tunnels collapse to know what's coming. You dive as far away from the tunnel as you can, shouting, "RAY, MOVE-!"

In a matter of seconds, more of the tunnel overhead begins to collapse. Your initial dive got you further away from the stone, and you slide clumsily through the repulsive waterway as you land. The light is rapidly fading from the hole overhead as it fills with rock. Ray tugs on your robes with his teeth, whining with extreme fear as you struggle to get up, your wound slowing you down.

You feel the floor shake as more of the tunnel behind you collapses. You get to your feet after a few excruciating seconds, and break out into a sprint. Ray is right behind you, but you don't dare look anywhere but straight ahead as you make sure to not trip on any of the debris underfoot.

The tunnel brutally quakes as the entire opening above surely collapses in on itself behind you. You keep running, feeling the wound in your side opening, but you don't stop until the sound abates.

You're definitely deeper into the waterway than you've ever been... and the light is completely extinguished. You stop for a second to catch your breath. "Ray?!" You call out in between breaths.

(1/2)

>>3807029
A familiar bark sounds off right next to you. He doesn't sound hurt. You let loose a heavy sigh with relief that borders on a sob. You quickly get a hold of yourself, and blindly feel around for a torch. "Mercy..." You mutter, feeling how soaked everything is in your backpack again. It feels like you were drenched head-to-toe, but the pack and the bottom of your robes seem to have gotten the worst of it. With great difficulty, you manage to extract a torch in the dark. Good thing the wood was treated. You command Ray to stay back while you strike the flame, not wanting him to get hurt.

Your eyes widen the moment the light catches. Even in the dim light of the newly burning torch, you can see something alarming. Very alarming.

The water is rising.

You frantically look overhead. There is solid stone above you, and below you as well. You spin around behind you, and see around the edges of the torchlight that the passage is stacked to the ceiling with heavy stone. The light is completely obscured in every direction. You turn rapidly towards the passage leading away from the obstruction. It looks like there's a three-pronged fork up ahead. Your eyes go even wider when you see that the central path leads downwards. The rightmost path leads up, and the leftmost path seems to stay pretty straight. It's very hard to see given the low lighting... Your heart is racing, and Ray barks at you as you stand in place The water is about a foot high and rising fast. You know time is precious, but you need the light desperately. You wrap both hands around the torch, and close your eyes. Ray's barking fades from your mind as you pour yourself in prayer, and reach out to Mercy.

As the Father of the Church of Mercy, you know you can call upon your Goddess to help you in times of great peril. Your restraint is respected by Her, and Her followers. Using her blessing in times of great peril is something you know you can do without fear of pain or retribution...

The light flares out with the intensity of the day for the briefest of moments, before shrinking back in on itself. The radius is at least doubled- and you can feel the heat radiating off of the torch. "The Gods are Merciful-!" You practically shout in relief, and swing the torch in front of you one more time.

You can clearly see now that the rightmost path that leads upwards ends about 100 feet out. It has a large grate covering the entire passage. It's too hard to discern a way to open it from such a distance. The straight path seems to end even closer, about 50ft out, also with a large grate. The only unobstructed path is the one leading down, and you can't see the entirety of the passage, even with Mercy's blessing. The water is about two feet up from the floor now, and still rising.

(Options in next post)

F5 F5 F5 F5 F5

>>3807038
>A) Run to the elevated, rightmost path. Ray is much shorter than you, and you can't risk him having to swim to keep up. Try to find a way to open the grate.

>B) Run to the straight, leftmost path, and try to open the grate. It's closer, and you don't know how much time you have.

>C) Run down the lower path as far as you can. You know you're too weak to force open the metal bars of those grates, and you have no aptitude for picking locks. Unless there's an easy way to open them, you'd rather try your luck sprinting ahead.

>D) Write-in

>>3807044
>B) Run to the straight, leftmost path, and try to open the grate. It's closer, and you don't know how much time you have.

>>3807044
>B) Run to the straight, leftmost path, and try to open the grate. It's closer, and you don't know how much time you have.

If our own strength isn't enough, see if we can pray to Flesh for a blessing. It might be better than drowning.

>>3807044
>A) Run to the elevated, rightmost path. Ray is much shorter than you, and you can't risk him having to swim to keep up. Try to find a way to open the grate.
>Tie some rope and the torch around the grate. Let the whole thing burn to soften the metal
>Use the mace as a lever and pull

>>3807577
secund

I'm >>3807092.
Changing my vote to >>3807577.

>>3807883
Just to respect IDs (even though I'm sure you're phoneposting), going to wait for another vote to make sure everything's fair.

>>3807044
>>A) Run to the elevated, rightmost path. Ray is much shorter than you, and you can't risk him having to swim to keep up. Try to find a way to open the grate.

>>3807059
>>3807092
>>3807577
>>3807628
>>3808401
Longest vote yet, but it looks like A won out with a cool write-in! Writing now.

>>3808413
Ray's barking intensifies. He's a much larger mastiff than most, nearly four feet tall standing, but the water is still rising rapidly. Fearing the worst, you decide to take the high ground. "Run, Ray!" You shout, sprinting through the water to the rightmost path. Ray practically has to swim to keep up with you, lagging behind. The ground to the right slopes up pretty dramatically. Luckily, you get above the water level about halfway into the passage. The water menacingly rises behind you, and you can hear it rushing from behind. The source is impossible to point, but you don't have time to inspect it.

The metal bars of the grate block the entire passage. The lattice is wide enough to stick a hand through, but impossible to squeeze even your lithe frame through. "Mercy-" You mutter, wasting no time. You take the last bit of rope you were able to salvage and fasten the torch onto the metal bars of the grate, taking a few precious seconds to pray for the metal to soften. The water surges behind you, coming up to the bottom of your shoes. With a great heave, you slam your mace down, try to get leverage, and lift with all of your weight.

A few agonizing seconds pass as you strain against the metal. The sound of it screeching echoes down the passage beyond. Your eyes close, and you strain against the bright light and heat of the torch... which... which seems to be weakening the grate! Ray is barking again at the rising water, but you hold your ground, digging in your heels, lifting with your legs-!

A horrific screech shakes through the grate as the metal weakens and completely collapses in the center! There's a small passage to squeeze through! You immediately grab onto Ray's collar and practically shove your companion through the opening. "Go! RUN!" You unfasten the torch as fast as your clumsy hands can work, grabbing the mace as well, and slide under the grate to follow Ray!

You break out into another sprint, feeling the dampness in the bandages spreading. Blood is surely weeping from your side from the strain of opening the grate but you can't care. The adrenaline coursing through you is keeping the fatigue and pain at bay for a few precious moments. Still sprinting, you follow the path upwards, which swerves to the side... and downwards. Your eyes are as wide as saucers, and you swing the torch around, scouring the walls for any other doors or openings. There are many carvings of demons-

And there's something more.

You see light around some of the carvings. Openings in grooves along the wall.

(1/2)

>>3808540
Hidden doors? Traps? Or something more?

There's three of them.

One, just to your left, is around a carving of an imp. The weakest kind of demon- they're usually in service to a demon of greater power. Still, imps are mischievous and terrible to contend with nonetheless. The grooves are about as tall as Ray. Your lanky and wiry frame stands above 6ft, and you would need to kneel down to inspect it or pass through.

Another is much taller, around a drawing of a minor demon. It's further down the tunnel, as the floor starts to dip down. This gap looks like a complete circle around the drawing, and you can almost see light coming from the other side. If it's a tunnel, it would be large enough for you to pass through while standing.

The last series of grooves is an ornate pattern, embedded in the outline of a lesser demon. About the same size as the body of the centipede demon- this one encompasses the entire height of the passage, and some of the ceiling. It's far enough down the passage that it meets the very edge of your torchlight, about 100ft out.

The rush of water from behind you is unmistakable. You're currently on dry land, but there's no telling for how long.

>(Please write-in any additional ways you wish to check any of the openings)

>A) Check the grooves to your left, around the carving of the imp. The smaller passage may be the easiest to open, if it needs to be pushed on.

>B) Check further down the tunnel, at the circle around the minor demon drawing. It resembles a door the closest, and may be a safer bet if you need to maneuver yourself.

>C) Check the largest pattern, around the major demon. You want to get as far away from the water as possible while exploring your options.

>D) Continue running down the passage, descending lower than where you're currently standing. The water has yet to pool down there from what you can tell, and you may have more time if you press on.

>E) Write-in

>>3808552
>C) Check the largest pattern, around the major demon. You want to get as far away from the water as possible while exploring your options.
the ornate stuff is more likely to be structurally sound

>Check the grooves to your left.
Easy is good.

>>3808552
>A) Check the grooves to your left.

>>3808552
>C) Check the largest pattern, around the major demon. You want to get as far away from the water as possible while exploring your options.

It's not wise to crawl through a passage on our belly when there's water rapidly rising.

>>3808867
>>3808919
>>3808921
>>3808945
Still stuck in a hard tie I see. I've got a busy day today and want to keep the vote open until we break it, so let's get one more in! We'll do a tie breaker if there's still nothing by this evening.

>>3808552
>C) Check the largest pattern, around the major demon. You want to get as far away from the water as possible while exploring your options.

I dont want to get stuck in a tight location if we have to go through

>>3808919
>>3808921
A whole lot of votes!

>>3808867
>>3808945
>>3809616
But C won out! Writing now.

>>3809909
The water is still rising rapidly.

You're soaked to the bone. Ray doesn't even bother to shake himself off as he whines and barks. "Move!" You shout to him. The dog seems scared of you raising your voice- you've trained him to help keep you calm. It doesn't matter right now. You're ttoo terrified of the imminent water and Ray's safety to worry about setting off an episode. Froth and gray foam rushes behind you as you run along the corridor, hooking around the corner and descending towards the largest opening you can see. The light faintly coming from the border of the demon gives you hope.

"BACK!" You shout at Ray, hooking your mace on your pack and swinging the shield down in its place. If this is trapped, you aren't going to risk both of you getting hurt. He whine as you pray, "Mercy guide me-"

You slam the shield onto the side of the grooves. The solid stone slides slightly with the force, and starts to retract!

The sound of rushing water above becomes deafening, as waves begin to rush down to meet you. You can feel your heart in your chest as the filthy runoff begins to pool around you, and the force is nearly enough to knock you off your feet. Ray holds his ground valiantly, barking at the door with a ferocity you rarely see from him. He's barely keeping his head afloat, when the grooves around the demon part completely. The hidden door it forms completely slides into the walls around it.

The water around you is still rising rapidly, and you can see a wide cavern ahead, glowing with a pale yellow light. You put your shield out. "With me, Ray!"

You push ahead towards the golden opening.

(1/2)

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>>3809968
The sound of your robes sloshing through the water echoes throughout the cavern. You look wide-eyed at the ceiling and walls, as the water runs out into a cavernous pit. The light of Mercy radiating from your torch seems to be consumed by the light of countless insects, glowing with a soft yellow light all around you. The room is enormous, and while it's hard to imagine this place flooding, the water still gathers around your feet. Its rise is slightly slower now, but Ray is still beside himself. He barks incessantly at the walls around you- and you see why.

The insects are neither fireflies nor beetles. They appear to be leeches. There must be hundreds of them, and they are slowly moving towards you. Many of them flop into the water, and begin to swim with uncanny speed towards you!

"RAY!!!" You whip your head around as he howls, and you see that several of the leeches are clinging to his body. Without a second's hesitation, you run to aid him-!

Swinging your torch, you scream out as you try to get the leeches off of your companion. You see sparks before your eyes from the outburst, but you can't care right now. Ray bites and gnaws at the creatures, and together you pry off a handful of them. Many, many more are coming. The light is rapidly growing as they approaches. You can see through the cavern clearly now. It looks like a dead end, only-

There's a hole in the floor, at the farthest end. After a steep incline, there is another descending path. It will flood, no doubt, if you take too long to go down there. You'd likely wind up swimming.

The water is still rising. As you look at the passage from where you came, you can see that the water level is still increasing, and no doubt has nearly flooded the passage from where you came. You grit your teeth with determination. Not like this. Not today!

>A) Put away your shield, and pray to Mercy. Ask for protection. You can't do this while attacking the creatures- she'll only answer if you show restraint. You're willing to take the risk to save Ray and yourself. You need to escape from this place. Ask Mercy to be able to withstand the assault of the leeches and run as fast as your legs can carry you to the exit.

>B) Put away your shield, and pray to Storm to grant you breath underwater. Storm is a temperamental God, prone to harsh judgement. He may not see fit to grant you anything, or could even worsen the flood- but it's a chance you're willing to take. Barrel ahead and give yourself to him! Drowning is far worse than losing some blood.

>C) Keep your shield up, and fight the leeches! Clearing the path for you and Ray with your own wiry body has given you a spark of faith... in yourself! For once in your life, you feel like you are capable with nothing but your human shell. The water is rising, yes, but you might not get very far if you come under attack. Cleave a path and make your way through the room with your own two hands!

>D) Write-in

>>3809976
>B) Put away your shield, and pray to Storm to grant you breath underwater. Storm is a temperamental God, prone to harsh judgement. He may not see fit to grant you anything, or could even worsen the flood- but it's a chance you're willing to take. Barrel ahead and give yourself to him! Drowning is far worse than losing some blood.

>>3809976
>B) Put away your shield, and pray to Storm to grant you breath underwater. Storm is a temperamental God, prone to harsh judgement. He may not see fit to grant you anything, or could even worsen the flood- but it's a chance you're willing to take. Barrel ahead and give yourself to him! Drowning is far worse than losing some blood.

Got a bad feeling about it, but it might be our best hope.

>>3809976
>C) Keep your shield up, and fight the leeches! Clearing the path for you and Ray with your own wiry body has given you a spark of faith... in yourself! For once in your life, you feel like you are capable with nothing but your human shell. The water is rising, yes, but you might not get very far if you come under attack. Cleave a path and make your way through the room with your own two hands!

>>3809989
>>3810454
>>3810931
Locked with B as majority, writing now!

>>3811022
The water level is increasing much faster than it has any right to, given the size of the cavern. Golden light gathers from every corner of the room, crowding around you and Ray as the leeches swarm. Ray tears into a great number as he does his best to follow you, and it's all you can do to try and help him. Moving forward becomes excruciatingly slow, between the water level rising and the leeches forming waves around you. You can feel the creatures creeping under your robes, under your shirt and socks, grabbing onto skin wherever they can.

We're going to die if we don't get out of here.

Your gaze snaps to the hole at the far end of the cavern. Mercy's torch burns hot in your hand, and you sear off several of the leeches from Ray to help the poor dog swim more easily. The water has risen nearly to your waist by the time you're halfway across the room, and he has to swim.

It's the only way out.

"Ray!" You call, as the dog begins to sink. You're so careful not to leave his side, but he can barely be seen through the monstrous infestation in the water. You fearlessly dive under the water, grab him, and help him back out.

"Come on boy-!" You call to him, trying to reassure the both of you as you painstakingly wade to the higher ground. The water level keeps rising, and you have to practically drag Ray as he bites and tears at the leeches stuck to his body. You stop for a second once you're on momentarily dry ground to throw as many of the freakishly large creatures off of him as you can. He licks you thankfully, but is whining at the water and quite obviously hurt.

Your mind thunders with thoughts of staying and fighting the leeches, but the water is rising so rapidly now that you fear you'll drown if you stay. The water is churning dangerously, pushing against the walls of the cavern and forming waves as it creeps towards you. You run up to the hole and peer inside.

It's dry. You can't see much farther beyond it, even with Mercy's torch, but it's enough. You bend down and whistle to Ray. He's visibly distraught, but his ears perk up at the noise and immediately leaps to your side. What did I ever do to deserve you? You wonder to yourself, relieved beyond words that he's keeping up.

You both wordlessly break out into a run down the steep decline.

The slope is even steeper than you thought from the top of the cavern, and your feet barely catch on the moist earth beneath you. Ray, despite his bites, manages to keep his footing right alongside you as you careen forward. The light of the leeches above you begins to fade as you stagger forward, but the sound of the water intensifies in a way that makes your heart sink. You know what you need to do, and it frightens you.

(1/3)

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>>3811116
You have always exercised the utmost restraint in your prayer. Even as a young boy, you've never called upon them for aid unless you felt lives were in danger. Those occurrences have become more and more frequent as the years have dragged on... and you've felt it. Sleep comes rarely. Eating is a struggle. Your limbs are thin but weigh on you like a much heavier burden... and yet you feel compelled. You have to keep praying. Not only to save others, but to save yourself.

Ray is panting hard as you both keep running forward. The torch you carry burns with a holy light, neither consuming the wood nor dimming with the speed at which you're moving. Your side sears with pain, obviously having opened from the water and the movement, but you can't care. You're concerned about what's rushing behind you.

From the top of the incline, you hear it. Gallons upon gallons of water, careening down and into the passage you are running through now. Ray whines, and you can feel his fear. You stop, and hold onto him, bracing against the side of the wall as the water rushes to meet you both.

There's no time to say goodbye. You have to pray.

"Storm..."

The entire passage trembles. His name scarcely leaves your lips, and you can feel Him there beside you. You struggle to speak, as water flows around you... and out from your lips. Your words rapidly become incoherent to anyone listening. You hold tightly onto Ray only for a moment longer, to keep him from being swept under the current, but you become too lost in prayer to even feel your body any longer. You faintly see him beginning to swim, trying to keep his head afloat as the passage completely floods. Being swept away...

The water must be in your lungs. You feel like you're drowning.
Everything goes black.
You're held in the embrace of an endless ocean.

Clouds gather, made of colors your eyes cannot comprehend.

Lightning caresses the sky.

An impossibly beautiful figure touches the height of the Storm.

Time has no place here. There's nothing but you and your intent to see Him.

You can't breathe. There's water in and all around you. You can't move. Your body is nothing but heat arcing through you. You're nothing but a vessel- cracked, endlessly fractured and pieced back together.

You can speak.

Your word is your own.

Water flows freely from your eyes and mouth as you gaze upwards, into the clouds, desperate to reach out to Him.

"My weakness is your strength."

Your voice isn't perceptible against the building tempest. Wind stirs the sky and clouds into a frenzy. Rain falls in sheets, raising you and the entire ocean with it. The heaven and earth collide, as thunder answers your prayer. Lightning falls down in an arc that takes your sight, and you think for the briefest of moments that you and all of the earth has died.

(2/3)

>>3811118
Your eyes bolt open.

You're still alive.

You can see.

You have no idea how long you were consumed in prayer, or how long you were with Storm. Your body is in shock when you come back to it, and you convulse.

This is it.

You inhale sharply, unable to help yourself. You feel your lungs fill with water.

But wait- they were already flooded before the corridor filled. Weren't they?

Your body is on fire, and you can practically feel the heat behind your eyes.

Orange lightning licks around your fingers, rippling through the current before and behind you. Mercy's torch is no longer lit, but you can see in the flooded passage.

He saved me.

They're back. The leeches. Hundreds of them. They're floating in a weird perimeter around you, keeping their distance, but they keep trying to inch closer. You watch the current quake as you make the slightest movements, and the tendrils of electricity that arc around your hands strike them back time after time.

You're grateful to not be under attack, and want to thank Storm, but you can't even mutter a word underwater. A terror sinks deep into you. Deeper than anything you've ever felt before.

Ray.

A mortal fear of your dog's safety takes hold of your body. As you swim forward, you find yourself pushed back. The leeches. They practically form a wall, trapping you in place. You try to push forward again, furious, and they still resist. You spin in place, trying to orient yourself. It's almost impossible to see anything above, below, or to either side of you.

You can't stop yourself, completely overwhelmed, and you scream in frustration. You can feel Storm keeping your weakness at bay, holding your head together before it completely splits from the pain.

Where am I?! Where is Ray?! What have they done?!

>A) Arc electricity from Storm into the entire passage. Kill each and every one of the leeches with a single motion. You're going to clear a path even if it kills you. No one hurts my fucking dog.

>B) Divide the water. You don't know how far in the passage you are, but there's an exit somewhere. It might create a current to guide you back to the entrance, but at least that would confirm if there's no escape.

>C) Take your time to find the exit without harming the leeches. You're still a Father of Mercy, no matter what's happened to Ray. Follow one of the walls, and try to find a way out of this place. Storm has honored your prayer. Honor him.

>>3811126
>>B) Divide the water. You don't know how far in the passage you are, but there's an exit somewhere. It might create a current to guide you back to the entrance, but at least that would confirm if there's no escape.
look for the dog

>>3811126
>B) Divide the water. You don't know how far in the passage you are, but there's an exit somewhere. It might create a current to guide you back to the entrance, but at least that would confirm if there's no escape.
I'm all for blasting those fuckers, but Ray might be hurt in the process.

>>3811126
>B) Divide the water. You don't know how far in the passage you are, but there's an exit somewhere. It might create a current to guide you back to the entrance, but at least that would confirm if there's no escape.

>>3811140
>>3811678
>>3813204
Unanimous vote for B (and some astute observations). Writing now.

>>3813229
Still trembling from the seizure, limbs aching, you manage to curl up into yourself. You wrap your arms around your body, trying to get the shaking to subside. The lightning arcing from your fingertips is the one thing on you that doesn't seem to hurt. It's not helping. You're so tense, and your head is aching. It's like your mind is fit to burst, going back to the moment you witnessed Storm over and over again. You can barely comprehend everything you saw.

Was it really Him? A manifestation? A vision? A hallucination? Will I ever see Him again? Why hasn't Mercy shown herself to me... or any other God for that matter? Have I not been faithful enough? Am I not worthy? Why now?

Leeches float by you passively. It's almost soothing. You try to get your thoughts to stop racing with extreme difficulty. There's someone counting on you.

You miss Ray. You miss his companionship and the comfort he brings you. He may have been given to you as a service dog, but he's become your best friend over the years. No matter what dangers you've faced, he's always come through. Where is he now?

You angrily look at the leeches around you. Bolts of electricity still arc from your eyes and hands, pushing the over sized pests away each time they approach you. Their presence is making you claustrophobic, and you still can't see a damn thing past them.

Weighing your options, and praying that Ray isn't still in the passage, you try to get a hold of yourself. You straighten your body, out of the borderline fetal position and as upright as you're able underwater. You wedge your feet down as best as you can next to a few rocks cropping out from the walls, and straighten an arm out in front of you. The leeches try to cling to your soaked robes, and are shocked off of you by more bolts of burning heat. You extend another arm, and bring your hands together in prayer.

Storm can't hear you down here. But he doesn't need to. You can feel Him.

(1/3)

>>3813404
You spread your hands, driving apart a gale of wind between them. You feel the God's blessing coursing through you, slipping through, manifesting. You keep your fingers splayed, and the space between them drives a gap in the water before you. The force continues to spread, surging through the corridor. You dig in your heels against the rocks as you're nearly propelled backwards and lean forward, intensifying the gale.

The water has to come out somewhere. The leeches around you keep trying to press forward, but they're being driven forward, as more and more water surely is leaving the passage. Hope sparks in your heart, and you push forward, thrusting another gale of wind through the water. It cuts forward with enough force to completely sever at least a dozen leeches in front of your hands, and thrusts a pocket of air through the flooded corridor!

Another blessing. You would drop your hands and profess your gratitude if you could only speak. You dig in your heels deep. Dirt clouds around you as you brace yourself.

With as much force as you can muster, you swirl the water before you. Wind intertwines with the electricity crackling along your skin, separating the water before you- you nearly collapse from the strain, but the water around you is keeping you afloat. You gasp, every inch of you immersed in the flood, as you gather the tempest in one last, intricate motion.

You release the Storm.

Before and behind you, the water surges, clinging onto the sides of the walls. You maintain your control over the elements, not just staying on your feet, but releasing a rush of water as you run forward through the passage. Water sprays out from the motion as you cut through the waves. The leeches hang, suspended in the water, writhing helplessly as you suspend the enormous volume of water with your bare hands. The golden glow illuminates the entire passage. It would be beautiful, if you had a moment to stop and appreciate it. You can feel your strength waning. You don't care, you see a sharp rise in the corridor- an opening!

Torrents of water are escaping from the passage. You swing your hands around in a fluid motion, letting a wave carry you straight up and out of the corridor along with the rest of the flood. Red light greets you overhead! You slide forward on the wave, keeping your balance effortlessly as you move with the surging tide, and release the water behind you. Your relief is short-lived.

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>>3813412
As you land and the water around you dissipates, you look around frantically for Ray. He had to have come this way. It was the only way out of that death trap. The water would have ran off elsewhere if there was even a single crack. The entire area you now stand in is soaked, as the tremendous volume of water finishes surging out from the corridor.

A crimson light reflects off of the water, shining onto countless stone pillars. The ceiling is extremely tall, even higher than the one in the waterway. You see several doors far off, and wonder if Ray went to find somewhere safer, or if he's nearby. More importantly, for the first time since entering the ruins, you see torches on the far wall...

Someone has been down here. You think, going on even higher alert. You're tired, but there's no time to rest. Something seems wrong with the many puddles on the ground, though. The water ahead... has something floating on it. It almost looks like oil. You open your mouth to shout out in terror, and a flood of water comes out instead. You back up, putting your arms in front of your face, lightning arcing around you, as the many puddles in the room ignite!

Flame rises high in patches along the length of the room. Heavy footsteps sound in the distance. You lower your arms, and try to brace yourself. Many, many footsteps are coming. The flame threatens to engulf you, and you ride the current underfoot along the ground. You watch with alarm as the flame only spreads along the water, being carried by the substance you still can't identify.

What is this sorcery?!

You want to examine the substance more closely but the source of the footsteps reveals itself in hideous spectacle. Almost like a dream, the creature you saw on the walls of the ruins appears before you. Possessing the heads of many men, atop many torsos, atop a singular body... stands a behemoth. The greater demon you saw carved on the walls of the ruins. It seems almost completely unphased as it passes through the flames, slowly walking towards you on four legs that resemble that of a bloodied horse. You frantically look around the room for any sign of Ray, but between the flames and the strange lightning it's impossible to tell where he's at.

>A) Channel the electricity coursing through your hands at the greater demon. You may be weakened from sharing your body with Storm for so long, but better weak than dead- which you likely will be, if you don't deal with this threat immediately.

>B) Redirect the flaming water towards the greater demon with Storm's blessing. The area you're in is enormous, and you have more than enough ammunition to completely engulf it. Maybe if it won't burn, it will drown.

>C) Don't even risk fighting this beast. You don't know how long Storm will favor you, and you don't want to find out. Run for your life. The doors ahead are surely too small for the greater demon to fit through.

>D) Write-in

>>3813431
>>A) Channel the electricity coursing through your hands at the greater demon. You may be weakened from sharing your body with Storm for so long, but better weak than dead- which you likely will be, if you don't deal with this threat immediately.

>>3813431
>Coat the demon in flaming water
>THEN shock him

>>3813800
>>3813431
Supporting

>>3813760
>>3813800
>>3814310
Locking in the vote, writing now!

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>>3814786
Your neck strains as you look towards the top of the demon, from the bottom of its horrendous form to the peak of its many heads. It strikes no fear into your heart. You're a man of the Gods, and Storm has favored you this day.

Holding your ground, you pivot your feet, digging into the wet earth and stone. It bends slightly around you as your connection to Storm intensifies. Calling upon His strength, you bring your hands together again, sparks of electricity arcing in halos around you. Adrenaline and electricity course through your veins, as you lean into the tempest, and begin to kindle the water and flame.

You try to speak in prayer, but water continues to pour out of your mouth. Storm overflows from you. It's hard to not get drunk on the power- with a gentle motion you sweep your hands around, spinning a vortex of death out of the hellish landscape before you. As the demon breaks into a stampede, charging towards you and shaking the ground on which you stand, you swing both arms overhead. A wall of water and flame comes with it.

The demon kicks back, slowed momentarily. You grimace as you continue to bring forward the tide. With renewed courage, you continue to push forward with Storm's blessing. It takes unbelievable effort, but you take a single step forward. The water beneath your feet, in and all around you guides your movements. It feels like someone is holding onto your arms, pushing them where they need to guide the current, as you propel the wall of water above and around you.

Your arms are outstretched towards the greater demon. The force of the waves below you intensifies as you redirect the colossal force of water and flame, wrapping it around the demon. It bucks and screeches as you engulf the beast completely, and you nearly break the tempest before the terrible sound. Its voice is like a thousand screaming men, begging for Mercy. You fall to one knee, tightening your outstretched hands into fists. The water below you keeps you from collapsing completely.

I am the Father of Mercy.

Trying again to pray for strength, you focus all of your will on the Storm building around you. Through the wall of flame and sea you can catch your bloodied reflection. Lightning licks around your eyes and trembling body, kneeling before the demon.

You pause for a moment. For once, you... you don't mind the image. You feel strong.

The lightning cracks, and a peal of thunder breaks out, shaking the room before you. The demon's flesh is charring under the continued flame before you, and you stare straight into its frontal head. The creature's eyes roll out from the back of its skull. Its eyes lock into yours for the briefest of moments. You try to not collapse from the strain of keeping the water around the creature as you meet it. It... it looks like it's in pain.

I will deliver you from your suffering-!

(1/2)